Kaiser Family Foundation Resources on Deficit-Reduction Debate October 31, 2012 Report These Foundation resources shed light on how the ongoing national debate about deficit reduction may affect Medicare, Medicaid and other health-care programs. These resources include analysis of specific savings proposals, polling on the public’s views of deficit-reduction options, summaries and comparisons of relevant elements of major deficit-reduction plans, and explanatory…
Medicare Part D: A First Look at Part D Plan Offerings in 2013 October 31, 2012 Report This data spotlight examines the stand-alone Part D drug plan options available to Medicare beneficiaries in 2013 during the open enrollment period, which runs from October 15 to December 7, 2012. The analysis is the first in a series of planned reports examining the private plan choices available to Medicare…
Seniors and the 2012 Presidential Election October 30, 2012 Poll Finding This data note draws primarily on two national surveys, the September Kaiser Health Tracking Poll and the Kaiser 2012 National Survey of Seniors, to examine how health issues are playing as a 2012 election issue for seniors, how this politically important group feels about a variety of policy proposals related…
Whom Does the Public Trust More on Health Care and Medicare? October 30, 2012 Poll Finding This data note reviews takes a historical look at the public’s views of whom they trust more, Democrats or Republicans, when it comes to health care policy and Medicare policy and analyzes these views in the context of the current presidential election, in which both issues are playing a prominent…
Seniors' Knowledge and Experience With Medicare's Open Enrollment Period and Choosing a Plan: Key Findings from the Kaiser Family Foundation 2012 National Survey of Seniors October 10, 2012 Issue Brief These key findings from the Foundation’s 2012 National Survey of Seniors relate to seniors’ knowledge and experience with Medicare’s open enrollment period and choosing a plan. The survey finds one in four seniors say they are unaware of this annual opportunity to review and change their Medicare coverage, with even…
Massachusetts’ Demonstration to Integrate Care and Align Financing for Dual Eligible Beneficiaries October 1, 2012 Issue Brief Massachusetts is the first state to finalize a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to test CMS’s capitated financial alignment model for beneficiaries who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, with enrollment beginning on April 1, 2013. Starting in 2013, CMS will…
Polling on Medicare Premium Support Systems Over Time October 1, 2012 Poll Finding This data note reviews years of polling dating to 1995 to gauge public opinion on proposals to change Medicare to a premium support system, an idea embraced by GOP presidential nominee Governor Mitt Romney and rejected by President Obama. Under the proposed change, the federal government would provide people on Medicare a fixed amount of money that could be applied toward the cost of health insurance purchased either from private insurers or the traditional Medicare program. The data note outlines historical trends in public opinion on the issue, reviews recent results and examines possible reasons for variation in the findings of different polls.
Explaining the State Integrated Care and Financial Alignment Demonstrations for Dual Eligible Beneficiaries September 30, 2012 Issue Brief This paper provides an overview of the joint efforts of states and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop more integrated ways of paying for and delivering health care to the 9 million people who are eligible for both the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Dual eligible beneficiaries…
State Demonstrations to Integrate Care and Align Financing for Dual Eligible Beneficiaries: A Review of the 26 Proposals Submitted to CMS September 30, 2012 Report The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed two models to align Medicare and Medicaid benefits and financing for dual eligible beneficiaries, one capitated model and one managed fee-for-service model. In the spring of 2012, 26 states submitted proposals to CMS seeking to test one or both of…
Transforming Medicare into a Premium Support System: Implications for Beneficiary Premiums September 30, 2012 Report This study illustrates why geography would matter for Medicare beneficiaries under a premium support system that relies on a competitive bidding process envisioned under several key Medicare reform proposals. It examines potential changes in the premiums paid by Medicare beneficiaries under a payment approach that caps federal contributions per beneficiary…