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20 CODING & BILLING Kaiser Family Foundation: 7 Things to Know About Medicare & its Financial Future By Mary Rechtoris I n its latest brief, Kaiser Family Founda- tion delves into how the Medicare pro- gram will fare in years to come. Here are seven things to know: 1. Current estimates say Medicare will have ample funds to pay for hospital insurance benefits in full until 2028. Once those funds run out, the program will still cover 78 per- cent of costs covered under Part A via payroll tax revenues. 2. Medicare per capita spending continues to rise as the aging population is set to double from 40 million people in 2010 to 84 million people in 2050. Additionally, the number of people ages 80 and older will increase to 31 million people by 2050. As the population rises, Medicare per capita spending follows suit. 3. Medicare total and per capita spending growth rate has slowed since the ACA imple- mented various provisions aimed at reduc- ing Medicare payments to providers and Medicare Advantage plans. Between 2000 and 2010, the Medicare spending growth rate decreased 9 percent. e rate then fell to 4.4 percent between 2010 and 2015. 4. Between 2015 and 2025, the average an- nual growth in total Medicare spending is set to increase 7.1 percent, which is faster than the 4.4 percent average growth rate between 2010 and 2015. 5. A Congressional Budget Office report found fully repealing the ACA would add $802 billion to Medicare spending over the next decade. 6. Last year, Medicare constituted 15 percent of the federal budget. Net Medicare spend- ing in 2016 totaled $588 billion. Between 2017 and 2027, KFF found net Medicare spending will increase from $592 billion to $1.2 trillion. 7. For Medicare Part D, per capita spending growth is slated to be 5.8 percent between 2015 and 2025. Comparatively, spending for Part A is set to increase 3.2 percent in the aforementioned time frame and 4.6 percent for Part B. n President Trump Delays CMS Bundles Implementation by 60 Days: 4 Things to Know By Eric Oliver P resident Donald Trump pushed back the implementation of CMS' bundled payments models by 60 days, Home Healthcare News reports. Here's what you should know. 1. On Jan. 24, President Trump placed a delay on regulatory changes pub- lished in the National Registry that had not yet taken effect. President Trump's administration is reviewing pending legislation. 2. Louisville, Ky.-based Kindred Healthcare and Washington, D.C.-based Na- tional Association for Home Care & Hospice both said to HHN they believe CMS is "jumping the gun" with the unproven programs. 3. HHS Secretary Tom Price questioned the models' effectiveness. In Septem- ber 2016, Dr. Price wrote a letter in September 2016 accusing Medicare of surpassing its power by mandating bundled payments. Dr. Price believes participation in bundled payments should not be mandatory. 4. CMS reported in a release, "We believe these models will further our goals of improving the efficiency and quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries re- ceiving care for these common clinical conditions and procedures." n Indiana Healthcare Data Transparency Website to Include 50 Outpatient Procedures By Laura Dyrda I ndiana's MyCareINsight.org website, which includes price data for the 100 most common inpatient procedures, will also include data for the state's 50 most common outpatient procedures, according to the South Bend Tribune. The data is designed to help patients make decisions about scheduling pro- cedures. The outpatient list includes data for colonoscopies, cataract re- moval and tonsil removal, according to the report. In some cases, providers with lower prices than competing hospitals could use the data as a marketing opportu- nity. The data comes from the Indiana State Department of Health. n