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Although regional variations in health spending have been studied for decades, there is renewed focus on this issue because of the role of health care costs in health care reform and the potential source of funds if addressing cost variations can yield savings.
Most Americans oppose the idea of converting Medicaid to block grant financing to reduce the federal deficit, and more than half want to see no reductions at all in Medicaid spending.
In March 2011, House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan released his "Path to Prosperity" budget plan, which included a proposal to change Medicare from a defined benefit program into one in which the government pays a specific amount towards the cost of private health insurance for each enrollee.
Beginning January 2013, Medicare spending will be subject to automatic, across-the-board reductions, known as “sequestration,” which is slated to reduce Medicare payments to plans and providers by up to 2 percent.
In the midst of continuing debate on the future of the Medicare program, the February Kaiser Family Foundation Tracking Poll finds most Americans and most seniors favor the status quo, though arguments about the program’s solvency have the potential to sway opinion toward new proposals.
Data Spotlights Examine Financial Burden of Health Care on Medicare Beneficiaries With renewed attention to the nation’s long-term budget deficit and the national debt, proposed changes to Medicare and other federal entitlement programs could significantly affect health coverage and spending for millions of older and disabled Americans.
This data spotlight examines the coverage gap, or "doughnut hole," in Medicare stand-alone drug plans available in 2010. While in the gap in coverage, Part D enrollees (other than those receiving low-income subsidies) are required to pay 100 percent of total drug costs until they reach the catastrophic coverage level.
This brief examines the changes in the 2010 health reform law affecting the Medicare Advantage program, which gives beneficiaries the option of enrolling in private insurance plans for their Medicare benefits, instead of the traditional fee-for-service program.
The Budget Control Act of 2011 tasked members of a "Super Committee" to find at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade.
Several major deficit-reduction plans include provisions that would impose an explicit limit on the growth in Medicare spending. In general, such limits would trigger cuts if Medicare spending grows more rapidly than a target, such as the growth in the economy.
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