New Medicare Policy Options to Help Low-Income Seniors
<p>An expansion of Medicare’s premium subsidies and financial protections is needed to limit high out-of-pocket costs for seniors with low incomes, say the authors of a new Commonwealth Fund–supported study in <em>Health Affairs</em>.</p><p>Two of five low-income Medicare beneficiaries spent at least 20 percent of their income on premiums and medical expenses last year, while nearly one-third spent 10 percent or more on out-of-pocket expenses alone, say researchers Cathy Schoen, Christine Buttorff, Martin Andersen, and Karen Davis. To ease these burdens, the authors have outlined a set of policy options for limiting deductibles and cost-sharing obligations that would make health care more affordable for some 11 million Medicare beneficiaries. </p>
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/newsletters/ealerts/2015/dec/new-medicare-policy-options-to-help-low-income-seniors Read about the study