The Kaiser Project on Medicare's Future is a major initiative of the Kaiser Family Foundation's Program on Medicare Policy, focused on producing timely and authoritative analysis of leading Medicare deficit reduction options and other reforms affecting people on Medicare, and on informing the debate about the future of the Medicare program. 

This brief examines the quality-ratings system and the potential for plans to receive bonuses under the 2010 health reform law and a new Medicare demonstration project.

This primer explains Medicare spending trends, how the program is financed, and factors contributing to the growth in Medicare spending as Congress and the Administration start to focus on the nation’s budget deficit.

This brief examines the current role of Medicare for the nine million low-income elderly and disabled people who are also eligible for Medicaid and examines future policy issues.

With some debt-reduction proposals calling for affluent beneficiaries to pay more of Medicare's costs, this brief estimates the impact of provisions in the health reform law that raise Medicare premiums for higher-income beneficiaries.

This chartbook provides the most recent and reliable data available about the Medicare program and its beneficiaries, including state data and historical trends.

This Medicare Advantage Data Spotlight provides an overview of recent changes made to the Medicare Advantage program and examines trends in plan participation, premiums and certain benefits.

The briefing examines the relatively high use of hospital and other Medicare-covered services for Medicare beneficiaries who live in nursing homes and other long-term-care facilities, and the potential for delivery reform to improve quality of care while reducing costs.

This report documents the relatively high rates of hospital stays, emergency room visits and skilled nursing facility admissions among long-term care facility residents. 

This report explores factors that appear to drive relatively high rates of hospitalizations, based on interviews with doctors, nursing home staff and families in four cities.