A vote in Congress on a bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and a larger and more controversial $3.5 trillion social policy and climate package has again been delayed.
Three proposals regarding Medicare and Medicaid would affect providers, payers and the pharmaceutical industry, Healthcare Finance and Forbes report.
These are proposals to add vision, hearing and dental benefits to original Medicare, include the ability for Medicare to negotiate drug prices, and close a “Medicaid gap” for consumers living in states that have not expanded Medicaid.
Passage of the $3.5 trillion spending plan would expand Medicare to cover vision, hearing and dental benefits, something it doesn’t do now. Some say this would cause the program to run dry by 2024 – and cost $358 billion over a decade, creating undue burden on taxpayers, according to Sally Pipes, president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute, writing in Forbes.
Medicare is facing immense financial pressures. Read more.
