Medicare (Health Insurance Program)

Main article: Healthcare in the United States

Medicare is a federal health insurance program launched in 1965 in the United States for the older population (from 65 years old). Health care in the U.S. is one of the most expensive in the world, so Medicare is unable to cover 100% of the cost of health care services. In particular, a long stay in the hospital is not fully paid, dental services, eye check and eyewear are not paid.

2016: Expense Analysis

On August 9, 2016, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an article on how doctors' use of new equipment on the ground is driving rising Medicare spending.

The illustration shows an increase in 2012-2014. Medicare spending on examinations when using new medical devices - in the field of tear osmolarity, electronic brachytherapy, electroretinography and sweating.

In 2014, $16.7 billion was allocated from the US budget for the examination of patients covered by Medicare, which is 10 times more than two years earlier. WSJ notes that this rise has not become something unusual, given the release of new medical devices that doctors use in their offices. For the development of advanced technology and its use for health care purposes, Medicare pays rewards.

The use of new equipment is associated with four of the ten fastest growing program spending items from 2012 to 2014. We are talking about studies in the field of tear osmolarity (a method of diagnosing dry eye syndrome), electronic brachytherapy (used to treat skin cancer), electroretinography (determination of retinal activity) and sweating.

4 out of 10 medical services, the costs of which under Medicare turned out to be the largest in 2014 compared to 2012, assume the use of devices directly in doctors' offices

From 2012 to 2014, Medicare spending on these four types of research increased by $123.5 million, amounting to $135 million. In 2014, $95 million was spent on medical procedures related to electronic brachytherapy against $7.8 million in 2012. Less than 10% of doctors accounted for more than half of the cost increase in the case of each service.^[1]

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