Frist calls for Medicare Reform
Via the Detroit Free Press:
Transforming Medicare could help lead the country toward a moreaffordable health care system, U.S. Sen. Bill Frist said Monday at the Detroit Economic Club.
Frist,a medical doctor, proposes Medicare reform as a way to prevent theeventual collapse of the government health plan while pushingadvancements that could hold down medical-cost inflation for the restof the nation.
Without fundamental reform, the Medicare program– the government health plan for senior and disabled Americans — willrun out of money in about 14 years, the Tennessee Republican and SenateMajority Leader said. With the aging population growing faster than thebirth rate, even raising taxes and cutting benefits wouldn’t work verylong, he said.
So he proposes reforms that include: establishingchronic-disease management programs, getting Americans to participatein their own health care choices and improving medical informationtechnology.
“More than 90% of Medicare dollars are spent treating people with chronic disease,” Frist said.