Is Medicare Part D The Answer To Health Reform?
There are many answers to the health care reform. Some will solve the problem, others will make it worse. Regardless of the answer, Medicare Part D has nothing at all to do with reforming how hospitals, doctors and insurance companies handle the current system. It was never intended to do anything more than what it currently do.
What Does Medicare Part D Do?
Medicare Part D is the federal government that covers the cost of prescription drugs for senior citizens. Even if it were extended to all segments of the population, it would not solve the problem with the rising costs. In fact, it would only make them worse.
Many people would be excited to have prescription drug coverage, but the real answer to health care reform in the long time is exposing people to what the services actually cost. Medical providers currently get away with charging more because doctors and hospitals know that they insurance companies will pay it. If the consumer knew how much the prices were, they would look for cheaper prices. It would not lower the prices in the short-term.
Don’t Look to Medicare Part D for Health Reform
Medicare Part D cannot overhaul the health care system. Some experts think that the way Medicare is set up is part of the problem that the United States faces with the problem in the first place. While fraud committed to the program adds to the increasing costs, the basic problem is that there are now more people on Medicare than its creators thought would ever receive benefits. Many other government programs for the elderly now face similar problems.
No one should look to anything offered by Medicare as a solution to the country’s larger problems with health insurance. Extending the benefits may have been better than the bill that did pass, but the bill may be overturned by the next congress or in the many legal challenges that it faces.
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