User:Mikcob/Medicare Buy In

Medicare Buy In is the name of a program to extend Medicare insurance to people younger than age 65 without any tax subsidies. Such insurance is totally paid by premiums in the same way as private health insurance. The resulting "Medicare Insurance Company" would compete directly with private insurance companies with all administrative costs and policing costs paid by policy holders and subscribers.

This page is a vary large stub documenting the projected gains from such a system based on current Medicare costs compared to the cost of private insurance. The projections are well documented but very amateurish. The hope is that the CRS and or the GAO will produce more accurate and compelling studies.

It is obvious to the more alert that Medicare is the only current restraint on rising medical service costs. Somewhat less obvious is the fact that by increasing the percentage of the population in the Medicare pool, it is less and less feasible for the private service providers to turn Medicare patients away and/or to shift costs to non Medicare payers. One way to control the rising cost of medical care in the United States is to offer medical insurance at a lower cost than "for profit" private insurers.