If the nation hopes to keep Medicare running the way that it should, more than just a new paint job is required. We'll need to replace the engine. According to the Heritate Foundation, the entire Medicare system is ripe for fundamental reform.
Heritage calls for a new system based on patient choice and market competition.
Remodel Medicare in the image of the popular Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, the 40 year old health plan covering members of Congress and 9 million federal employees, retirees and their dependents. Government premium support financing that covers the cost of the core benefits package. A new administrative agency to set and enforce the ground rules for private plans with minimal regulation. The political will to reform Medicare is strong and growing, Moffit observes. Repeated warnings from the GAO, and from the Medicare Trustees, that the program cannot survive another generation in its present form have created a sense of urgency about the need to address the situation.