Instead, let's consider the option of continuing these plans, but reducing their cost to the medicare system.
What would be wrong with increasing the private plans contribution to the administrative cost and reducing their cost to Medicare?
Another method of reducing Medicare costs might be by capitizing its share of the risk.
In a capitization plan the insurer would pay a medical provider a set fee and its beneficiaries would be treated.
If there is a bad flu season and the provider treats a larger number of patients, the provider loses, if the flu season is mild and the provider treats fewer, the insurance company loses. In this case Medicare would be the insurance company.
Capitization can provide access to care and cost containment.
Finally, before the discussion goes on any further, it is important to disentangle long term care from medical, hospital and pharmaceutical coverage and to remind the politicians and the public that the fiscal crisis in Medicare stems less from health care coverage as long term care (LTC).
It may be worthwhile to study methods to separate LTC from medical coverage and to study the health care and LTC financing options in that manner.
As the previous shows discussions about health care coverage are complex, detailed and rather dry and even when the subject is open to common knowledge, emotion, other social issues and values affect the decisions.
If the discussion is so complex and emotional in a public matter like Medicare, how much more complex and emotional will it be in the murky and secretive arena of employer sponsored health care?
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