Nursing home pay-for-performance program yields mixed results, report says

Medicare reimbursements grew modestly in 2014, according to a government report that focused on the decrease in the federal deficit.

In the Congressional Budget Office’s report, “The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2015 to 2025,” the analysts said there is a deficit expected of $468 billion for the budget year, down from last year’s $483 billion deficit. The report was released Monday.

It also found that the number of citizens without health insurance is expected to drop from 42 million to 36 million this year, around 19 million fewer people than would have been uninsured in the absence of the ACA, the report asserts. Additionally, by 2019, the law’s insurance provisions will cost an estimated $571 billion, down $139 billion from the initial estimates.

Medicare spending grew at a “modest rate” in 2014, the CBO found, with outlays rising by $14 billion (2.8%). Gross spending for Medicare will total $622 billion in 2015, CBO estimates, or 3.5 percent of GDP, the same share as in 2014. By 2025, the program’s spending will reach nearly $1.2 trillion.

After 2018, the federal deficits are expected to rise as more baby boomers retire and enroll in Social Security and Medicare. Federal reimbursement for major healthcare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, are expected to grow more rapidly than Social Security.

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