Medicare in the twenty-first century : seeking fair and efficient reform / Robert B. Helms, editor.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Helms, Robert B.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Medicare.

Physical Description:

x, 179 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : AEI Press, 1999.

Summary:

Medicare cannot survive through the second decade of the next century without major reforms, according to government projections. Growth in the number of Medicare enrollees and the costs of their medical care will outpace the number of workers and their tax contributions to the fund. Yet public-opinion polls indicate that Medicare is not a leading concern for most people. And Medicare reform receives slight attention from politicians and the press.

We ignore the need for Medicare reform at our own peril, say the contributors to Medicare in the Twenty-first Century. These leading health economics experts make various recommendations for saving the popular Medicare program and grapple with finding a solution that is realistic, fair, and efficient. In doing so, they include the history and background analysis of issues and consider the stakes of those with competing interests: the young and the old, the healthy and the sick, taxpayers and beneficiaries, patients and providers.

The authors warn that, the longer we put off Medicare reform, the more costly it will be. Medicare in the Twenty-first Century provides a good foundation for taking pragmatic steps to save the program -- before it's too late.

Contents:

2 The Bumpy Road to Reform / Joseph R. Antos, Linda Bilheimer 23

3 Converting Medicare to Prepaid Health Insurance / Andrew J. Rettenmaier, Thomas R. Saving 41

4 Can Beneficiaries Save Medicare? / Mark V. Pauly 67

5 Managing the Medicare Insurance Market / Len M. Nichols 90

6 The Forgotten Opportunity of Reforming Fee-for-Service Medicare / H. E. Frech III 109

7 Issues in Competitive Pricing / Bryan Dowd, Roger Feldman 124

8 The FEHBP as a Model for Reform / Walton Francis 147

3-1 Required Contribution Rates Expressed as a Percentage of Life-Cycle Earnings 53

3-2 Transition Cost Estimates in Billions Assuming 5.4 Percent Real Rate of Return and 1 Percent Real Growth in Per Capita Medical Expenditures 56

4-1 Distribution of the Elderly by Family Income as a Percentage of the Poverty Line, 1968 and 1997 76

8-1 Premium Savings from Open Season, 1994-1998 157

8-2 Increase in Average Costs per Enrollee, 1995-1999 158

3-1 Equilibrium Lifetime Consumption 46

3-2 Present Value of Medicare Payment at Age Sixty-five, by Age at Death 51

3-3 System Costs and Tax Revenues, 1998-2050 57

7-1 Demand and Supply of Medicare Entitlement Benefits 131

7-2 Preference of High-Risk Beneficiaries for Cost-Effective Care 135

7-3 Preference of High-Risk Beneficiaries for Cost-Ineffective Care 140.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0844741175

0844741183

OCLC:

42021403