Medicare Reform
Structuring Health Care Benefits: A Comparison of Medicare and the FEHBP
Research Report
Craig Caplan, AARP Public Policy Institute
Lisa Foley, AARP Public Policy Institute
May 2000
Learn More
- Report Home
- Full Report (PDF)
- In Brief (HTML)
This issue paper identifies significant differences between Medicare's current structure and the structure of the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, a premium support system, with the focus specifically on differences related to health care benefits as an entitlement. Both original Medicare and Medicare+Choice are examined in the comparison. The analysis highlights for policymakers that certain structural elements of the Medicare program as a whole (e.g., the specificity of covered benefits and cost-sharing requirements) play important roles in preserving the value of Medicare benefits. The issue paper concludes that any premium support proposal that weakens the structure of original Medicare would have serious ramifications for current and future Medicare beneficiaries. (26 pages)
Pub ID: 2000-05