Medicare spending was projected to reach $22,000 per beneficiary by 2023, but the program spent $12,459 per beneficiary this year, according to the Times.
One clear reason for the decrease in spending is cuts in reimbursements to hospitals and Medicare Advantage plans implemented in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act.
Most of the reduction is attributable to “technical adjustments,” according to the Congressional Budget Office. These adjustments cover changes in public health and how medicine is practiced, according to the Times.
Melinda Buntin, PhD, a visiting professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School in Baltimore, told the Times some of the slowdown is attributable to federal policies and policies from private insurers that have led providers to become more cost conscious.
Read the full report here.
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