Deficit Reduction

Overview and Briefing ChartsThis chartpack reviews the President’s FY 2006 budget request to Congress and highlights overall budget assumptions and funding for major health programs. It begins with a description of the federal budget process, followed by an overview of federal surplus/deficit spending patterns dating back to 1969. It then…

Although Medicare is not the main focus of current health reform legislation, the bill recently passed by the House—H.R. 3962, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009—and the bill before the Senate—H.R. 3590, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—include a number of provisions that would affect Medicare program expenditures. This…

Washington, D.C. – A new report released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows modest state costs for implementing the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act compared to significant increases in federal funds, allowing some states to see net budget savings even as millions of low-income uninsured Americans gain…

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. One in five adults has received Medicaid benefits over time, and for most, experiences were positive, although one third…

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. Surveys conducted…

Several major deficit-reduction and entitlement reform proposals include raising Medicare’s age of eligibility from 65 to 67 as a way of improving Medicare’s solvency. This Kaiser Family Foundation report estimates the expected effects of such a change on the federal budget, as well as on affected seniors’ out-of-pocket costs, employers,…

The Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Family Foundation present a briefing to discuss the basics of Medicaid and its role in the health care system. Speakers address questions on how the program is administered, how much it costs and how it is financed, as well as how the…

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. This sequestration results from provisions in the Budget Control Act of 2011, which raised the debt ceiling and will…

This brief examines key Medicare provisions included in “The Path to Prosperity: Restoring America’s Promise,” a long-term budget proposal released by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan on April 5, 2011, which outlines a strategy for reducing federal spending and reducing the national debt over time. The Medicare provisions are among…

This issue brief examines the broad implications of converting Medicaid to block grant financing, one of several ideas that have been put forth to help reduce the federal deficit. The paper, which does not analyze any specific proposal, notes that switching to block grant financing would fundamentally alter the Medicaid…