1) Previous approved budget set asides of $635 Billion over 10 years from the Health Care Reserve Fund. Over $300 Billion will come from raising revenue by limiting tax deductions the wealthiest Americans can take.
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2) Medicare Program Spending cuts [projected to save ~$25 Billion over 10 years]
· End over payments to Medicare Advantage
o Offer competitive bidding into the Medicare Advantage Program. A program under which private insurance companies can offer Medicare Coverage. [projected savings of ~$180 Billion over 10 yrs]
· Use Medicare reimbursements to reduce preventable hospital readmissions. (approximately 20% of Medicare patients discharged from hospitals are readmitted within a month, often because their not getting the comprehensive care they need. This puts people at risk and drives up cost.
3) Introduce generic biologic drugs into the market place, thereby getting better deals on prescription drugs for poorer seniors, while better off seniors pay a little more for drugs they want. [projected saving of ~$30 Billion]
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4) Adjust Medicare payments to reflect new advances and productivity gains in the economy [projected savings of ~ $110 Billion]
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5) Reducing Medicare payments to hospitals for treating uninsured people by providing a system where people have coverage. [projected savings of ~ $105 Billion]
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6) More efficient purchasing of prescription drugs. [projected savings of ~$75 Billion]
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7) Weed out waste, abuse, and fraud of the health care system.
[projected savings ~$1 Billion]
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{Cost Savings on the Table ~$850 Billion}
