Medicare reimbursements to hospitals fail to cover the actual cost of providing services. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission MedPAC, an independent congressional advisory agency, says hospitals received only 94.1 cents for every dollar they spent treating Medicare patients in 2007. MedPAC projects that number to decline to 93.1 cents per dollar spent in 2009, for an operating shortfall of 7%. Medicare works because hospitals subsidize the care they provide with revenue received from patients who have commercial insurance. Without that revenue, hospitals could not afford to care for those covered by Medicare. In effect, everyone with insurance is subsidizing the Medicare shortfall, which is growing larger every year.
via Alan B. Miller: Medicare For All Isn’t The Answer – WSJ.com.
The author is CEO of Universal Health Services with first hand experience in Britain, who provides a perspective well worth reading as we contemplate fundamental change to a system that draws customers from around the world.
