Medicare Under Pressure to Meet Boomers' Needs on a Budget

A panel discussion at the recent National Association of Health Underwriters 2020 Capitol Conference considered Medicare and its long-term stability amid an influx of baby-boomer retirees, reports InsuranceNewsNet . Better Medicare Alliance CEO and former U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz said Medicare could do more to keep beneficiaries healthy and keep them from using more expensive types of care. "We want to get people the right care at the right time at the right cost," she noted. National Coalition on Health Care CEO John Rother added that the program's revenues could be raised by lawmakers mulling two options: upping the minimum wage so workers would be contributing more money into Medicare, or admitting more immigrants into the United States for employment. Rother also suggested that reducing the age for Medicare enrollment would help by adding more people to the risk pool, thus taking more workers out of their employers' risk pool and benefiting those in their early 60s who want to retire but have yet to qualify for Medicare and who cannot otherwise afford health insurance premiums. Panelists also addressed the increase of nonmedical benefits in Medicare Advantage plans, which cover social factors that can affect seniors' health. None of the panelists felt that Medicare is imperiled, despite concerns that its funds could be depleted in the future.