The University of Alaska’s Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) completed a study titled “Improving Health Care Access for Older Alaskans” in June 2010. This study was authored by Mark A. Foster and Rosyland Frazier. The report addresses the current status of access of Alaska seniors to health care and potential solutions to this access. It also describes the impact of Medicaid on Medicare seniors. This is especially important today due to the increased pressure on legislators to expand Medicaid to a new eligible population.
The green share at the front of the bus is employer-based insurance, which is the largest provider of health-care coverage and the best payer for primary-care services. For each dollar employer-sponsored insurance pays doctors for primary care, Medicaid and TRICARE pay 81 cents for the same service; Medicare is the lowest payer at 63 cents. (The revenue is based on 2009 payments for the most routine office visits to primary-care doctors.) So Alaska doctors who don’t see Medicare patients still have many potential patients, with better-paying insurance.”
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