Deficit Reduction

In the coming debate about the deficit, policymakers will struggle to craft a package of spending reductions and new revenues that both Democrats and Republicans can agree on, totaling as much as four trillion dollars over ten years.  Medicare, Medicaid and potentially the Affordable Care Act will have their turn…

This month, public opinion on the health reform law continues to be remarkably steady. The April Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that four in ten feel favorably about the law and an equal share say they feel unfavorably. In recent months there has been a slight decline in the share…

With Medicaid being the focus of federal and state debate on deficits, the Kaiser Family Foundation’s President and CEO examines recent poll findings about the program’s popularity that may be a surprise considering the current discussion.

This month’s Kaiser Health Tracking Poll reveals little change in public opinion about the health reform law. Americans remain divided overall, with 42 percent having a favorable opinion of the law and 44 percent viewing it unfavorably. Three in ten continue to want to see the law expanded, while roughly…

Though the public remains divided on health reform overall, according to a new survey jointly conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard School of Public Health, opposition to the new law ticked upward in January from 41 percent to 50 percent as Republicans ramped up efforts to repeal it.…

No doubt it will take some time to sort out how elements of the debt deal (formally “The Budget Control Act of 2011”) will all work. Delving into the details of how it affects subsidies in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to make insurance more affordable helps to illustrate how…

On February 2, 2015, the Office of Management and Budget released President Obama’s budget for fiscal year (FY) 2016, which includes provisions related to federal spending and revenues, including Medicare savings. The President’s FY2016 budget proposal would reduce net Medicare spending by $423 billion between 2016 and 2025, and is estimated to extend the solvency of the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund by approximately five years. This brief summarizes the Medicare provisions included in the President’s FY2016 Budget.