Industry News
CRS Updates Medicare Primer
On May 20, 2019, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) published its updated report, Medicare Primer. The report provides a general overview of the Medicare program. In 2019, CRS reports that the Medicare program is expected to cover about 61 million individuals, with 52 million (85%) being age 65 and older and 9 million (15%) being disabled. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that total Medicare spending will be approximately $772 billion, with about $749 billion being spent on benefits in 2019.
The report also includes information regarding: 1) history of the Medicare program; 2) eligibility criteria; 3) covered services; 4) provider payment systems; and 5) program administration and financing. The appendices also include commonly used acronyms and information on beneficiary cost sharing.
The report is available here.