Expert Available to Discuss Problems With Medicare, Health Care Costs

3/25/2002

From: Tom Gardner of the Council for Affordable Health Insurance, 703-836-6200, ext. 386; E-mail: tgardner@cahi.org

News Advisory:

WHAT: Issue Debate - Medicare: Why are doctors no longer accepting Medicare patients? The problems with Medicare and health care costs.

WHO: Merrill Matthews, Jr., Ph.D., director, Council for Affordable Health Insurance.

WHEN: Whenever Medicare or health care cost is an issue or a priority.

BACKGROUND: As a way to reduce and control Medicare costs, the U.S. government cut Medicare reimbursements to doctors 5.4 percent this year, and projects reductions of 17 percent by the year 2005. Doctors complain that Medicare no longer covers their cost of seeing patients. As a result, many doctors are beginning to limit the number of Medicare patients they see, and others are refusing to accept any new Medicare patients.

What should the government do, if anything, to fix this problem? Or have "government fixes" caused the problem?

Others, citing the rising cost of health insurance premiums and the number of uninsured, have called for the federal government to create a national health insurance system, similar to Canada. But would that action expand Medicare's reimbursement problems to all patients?

If you would like more information on this issue, please call Tom Gardner, Director of Communications, Council for Affordable Health Insurance at (703) 836-8602 ext. 386.

The Council for Affordable Health Insurance is a research and advocacy association of insurance carriers active in the individual, small group, MSA, and senior markets. Since 1992, the Council for Affordable Health Insurance has been an active advocate for market-oriented solutions to the problems in America's health care system.