Analysis of alternative approaches to increasing Part B financial assistance to Medicare beneficiaries with low incomes
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Author(s):
- Gangopadhyaya, Anuj, author Holahan, John, author Shartzer, Adele, author Garrett, Bowen, author
- Contributor(s):
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, issuing body. Urban Institute, issuing body.
- Publication:
- Washington, DC : Urban Institute, December 2022
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Health Equity -- economics Health Policy Medicare Part B -- economics Poverty -- statistics & numerical data United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs) provide financial assistance with premium obligations and cost-sharing expenses to many low-income Medicare beneficiaries who are not eligible for full Medicaid benefits. However, these programs have income and asset limits that are often less generous than federal laws allow, and even in the most generous programs, low-income beneficiaries may still face very high financial burdens from premiums, deductibles, and copayments. In this brief, we estimate the effects and costs of three national policies that would limit the financial burdens faced by low-income Medicare enrollees. Unlike MSPs, none of the three approaches uses asset tests to determine eligibility. The first approach would cap Part B premiums for all Medicare enrollees at 8.5 percent of income. The second would cap Part B premiums using the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) income cap schedule, which fully subsidizes premiums for people with incomes up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) and then gradually increases household spending on Part B premiums to 8.5 percent of income for those with incomes at or above 400 percent of FPL. The third approach would also use the IRA premium schedule but eliminate Part B cost sharing for beneficiaries with incomes at or below 100 percent of FPL. We find an 8.5 percent cap would provide some financial assistance to nearly all enrollees with incomes below the poverty level and many with incomes between 100 and 200 percent of FPL without substantially raising Medicare payments. Applying IRA income caps would provide financial assistance to all Medicare enrollees with incomes below 200 percent of FPL and nearly half of enrollees with incomes between 200 and 400 percent of FPL, but doing so would raise total Medicare Part B program spending by 9 percent.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-DC license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (21 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918591682206676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918591682206676