OPINION - Access to medicine in question for future Medicare patients

[Guest guest]

Access To Medicine In Question For Future Medicare Patients

MedicalNewsToday.com

Article Date: 03 Jun 2010 - 0:00 PDT

Healthcare reform -- and the many options for fixing a broken system

-- have appeared in the news headlines for months. According to an

article in the June issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery

(JBJS), Medicare patients - many who suffer from disabling arthritis

of the hip and knee, among other age-related ailments - may end up

facing an accessibility crisis to medical care.

" This is not a just a crisis that is unique to orthopaedics or the

field of musculoskeletal medicine, " stated lead author orthopaedic

surgeon J. Bozic, MD, MBA, Associate Professor and Vice Chair,

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Core Faculty of the Philip R.

Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of

California, San Francisco. " The challenges faced by the Medicare

program are impacting everyone who provides or receives care through

this vehicle. "

In the fiscal year 2010, Medicare will provide health insurance to 47

million individuals who are older than 65 years, are disabled or have

end-stage renal disease, at a cost of roughly $510 billion, and as

time goes on, that cost will continue to sky-rocket.

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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/190659.php

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