The failure of the congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to come to an agreement on policy may be good for Medicare, healthcare consulting executive Jean LeMasurier recently told A.M. Best Company.
According to LeMasurier and others, the source reports, the automatic budget cuts that will be triggered for Medicare are likely to mean smaller reductions than an actual agreement would have. As a result, programs like Medicare and Medicaid may have more funding at their disposal under the prevailing circumstances.
The supercommittee struggled with policy decisions involving spending cuts and revenue increases meant to address the federal budget deficit. The automatic spending cuts which are now approaching will reduce Medicare and Medicaid funding by 2 percent, which LeMasurier told the source is likely better than either program would have done under any agreement.
Insurance industry stakeholders are reportedly troubled by the uncertainty of the current situation, the news source indicates. With the future of government healthcare measures unclear, they are concerned about the effects future policies may have and the inability to plan they currently face. Cuts and alterations in government spending could mean major changes in remaining programs as well, with unpredictable effects on employee benefits and health plans.
