Kaiser: Medicare Reform Ideas

There are 150 cost-cutting ideas, totaling $9.4 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade. Find them here, “Policy Options to Sustain Medicare for the Future,” summarized by Timothy Taylor:

Raise the age of Medicare eligibility from 65 to 67 ($113 billion over 10 years)
10% coinsurance payment on all home health episodes ($40 billion over 10 years)
Restrict first-dollar Medigap coverage ($53 billion over 10 years)
Increasing premiums for Part B and Part D: for example, raise Part B premiums by 2% per year until they cover 35% of total Part B expenses ($231 billion over 10 years)
Increase Medicare payroll tax by 1 percentage point for all workers ($651 billion over 10 years)
Require manufacturers to pay a minimum rebate on drugs covered under Medicare Part D for beneficiaries receiving low-income subsidies ($137 billion over 10 years).
Repeal provisions in the Affordable Care Act that would close the Part D coverage gap by 2020 ($51 billion over 10 years)
Reduce and restructure graduate medical education payments to hospitals ($69 billion over 10 years)
Rebase SNF and home health payment rates: for example, reducing payment updates for post-acute care by 1.1 percentage points ($45 billion over 10 years)
Adopt traditional tort reforms at the Federal level ($40 billion to $57 billion over 10 years)
Establish a combined deductible, uniform coinsurance rate, and a limit on out-of-pocket spending, along with Medigap reforms ($93 billion over 10 years)
Set Federal contributions per beneficiary at the average plan bid in a given area, including traditional Medicare as a plan, weighted by enrollment ($161 billion over 10 years)