Reducing Medicare Coverage

It’s no secret that everyone in Washington feels a need to reduce the cost of Medicare. What they disagree about is how to do it. The appointees of the administration, however, seem to agree on their preference. They want to reduce the care that is covered under the program. You’ve seen evidence over the last couple of years with recommendations from government advisory panels that some testing and treatments no longer be routine. Most recently, a panel recommended discontinuation of the PSA test for prostate cancer. Expect this to continue as the administration favors rationing of medical care by government fiat.

Aaron says that “the survival and strengthening of the IPAB is of critical importance.”  In a sense, this is unsurprising, given his earlier views, which were captured in a Washington Post story published during the Reagan administration (when Aaron was in his late 40s).  The Post article reads,

“If Americans are serious about curbing medical costs, they’ll have to face up to a much tougher issue than merely cutting waste, says Brookings Institution economist Henry J. Aaron.

“They’ll have to do what the British have done: ration some types of costly medical care — which means turning away patients from proven treatments.