Study Panels Suggest Ways to Restructure Medicare
National conference on social insurance
From 1995 to 2003, the National Academy of Social Insurance convened seven study panels to examine issues pertaining to the restructuring of Medicare. The study panels were:
- Capitation and Choice
- Fee-for-Service Medicare
- Medicare's Larger Social Role
- Medicare's Long-Term Financing
- Medicare's Governance and Management
- Medicare and Chronic Care in the 21st Century
- Medicare and Markets
The Washington-based academy is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and education organization devoted to the study of income security, health care finance and related public and private programs.
Key Findings
The National Academy of Social Insurance identified four general principles that emerged from the study panels that should serve as core values in restructuring Medicare:
- Medicare has made invaluable contributions to the health and financial security of beneficiaries.
- Medicare should be preserved as a social insurance program.
- Reform proposals should seek an appropriate balance between the financial security of Medicare beneficiaries and the need to ensure financing for Medicare's long-term future.
- Medicare's acute care focus should be modified to address the health care needs of beneficiaries, most of whom have chronic conditions.