Back in 2015 Congress passed the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 and the President signed it into law on April 16, 2015.
Among many changes to Medicare, it prohibits Medigap plans that reimburse for the Part B deductible. The thinking of Congress (by a great majority) was that by eliminating out-of-pocket spending beneficiaries are inclined to care less about costs. That’s the same logic behind high deductible health plans that are prominent in Obamacare.
In addition, the law increased the Part B premium sharing for hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries.
One could easily characterize these changes as cuts to Medicare, but let’s not go there now.
What is interesting is that scores of politicians who voted for this legislation are now supporting Medicare-for-All that eliminates virtually all cost-sharing; no deductibles, no out of pocket costs … all free.
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