In June 2015, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission issued a report to Congress analyzing the current state of healthcare services delivery and identified three factors of great importance to healthcare providers:
• A forecasted rapid increase from 2016 onwards in the percentage of the total population of Medicare-Eligible aged 65+.
• A significant decline starting in 2009 in the number of workers per Medicare Part A (hospitals) beneficiaries.
• The aging of the Medicare-eligible population, after years of decline, to begin in about 2020.
A new white paper addresses the implications of these three trends for healthcare providers regarding utilization and cost-shifting.