A Public Comprehensive Benefit Option for Medicare Beneficiaries (2012)

Undergraduate: Paul Parker

Faculty Advisor: Pete Andrews
Department: Economics

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Medicare beneficiaries who want comprehensive benefits have two bad options: mixing their basic public coverage with private supplemental coverage, which is confusing and inefficient, or receiving all of their care from a private provider, which is less efficient than receiving publicly provided benefits. If Congress were to implement a third option – providing beneficiaries with comprehensive benefits through Medicare in exchange for a premium covering the difference between the cost of basic and comprehensive benefits – it would substantially reduce costs, eliminate unnecessary confusion, and improve quality of care. The additional competition engendered by such a program would have a positive impact on all beneficiaries in the market, rather than merely program participants.