Uninsured Near-Elderly Could Benefit From Medicare Buy-In
February 22, 2002 - In a February 2002 report, "A
Medicare Buy-In for the Near-Elderly," the Kaiser
Family Foundation indicates that 37 percent of "near
elderly" individuals (ages 62 - 64) would purchase Medicare
if it was available.
According to the report, the proportion of near-elderly individuals
without health insurance would drop from 10 percent to 6 percent
if Medicare buy-in premiums were adjusted according to income.
If premiums were not adjusted, few poor near-elderly individuals
would purchase buy-in coverage and uninsurance rates would
drop "only modestly" (from 10 percent to 9 percent
of the near elderly population).
The report warns that a Medicare buy-in plan would attract
a significant proportion of individuals with existing health
problems and subsequently raise the per enrollee costs of
the program. Income adjusted premiums and premium subsidies
could help expand the plan's risk pool and avoid adverse selection.
Using 1998 data, the report indicated that about 10 percent
of individuals between ages 62 and 65 were uninsured; nearly
12 percent purchased individual coverage. About 28 percent
of near-elderly individuals with family incomes below the
poverty line lacked health insurance.
Information:
Christiane Mitchell, Senior Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
cmitchell@aamc.org
(202) 828-0526
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