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  • Questions and Answers about Turning Medicare into a Premium Support System

    News Release

    With its inclusion in the House GOP health plan released last month, the idea of converting Medicare into a premium support system once again features prominently in Capitol Hill policy discussions about the future of Medicare, the federal health insurance program that covers 57 million seniors and people with disabilities. A new brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation helps inform the debate by examining some frequently asked questions about premium support. This approach, generally speaking,…

  • Implications Of A Federal Block Grant Program For Medicaid

    Issue Brief

    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 program and could have significant implications for states, localities, beneficiaries and health care providers. Issue Brief (.pdf) Related Resources: Prior Analyses of Block Grant Proposals…

  • Proposed Changes to Medicare in the “Path to Prosperity”: Overview and Key Questions

    Issue Brief

    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 the many significant changes to programs affecting the elderly and disabled in the "Path to Prosperity" proposal. The central Medicare proposal would transform the program…

  • The President’s FY 2006 Budget Proposal:

    Report

    Overview and Briefing Charts This 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 turns to summary information on the overall composition of the Administration’s budget, followed by the President’s proposed funding for some of the major programs…

  • Medicare’s Role for Dual Eligible Beneficiaries

    Issue Brief

    About 9 million low-income seniors and younger people with disabilities in the United States are covered by both Medicare and Medicaid. This brief examines the role of Medicare in providing health coverage for these beneficiaries. Medicare is the primary source of health insurance, while Medicaid provides supplemental coverage, helping with premiums and cost-sharing and paying for services not covered by Medicare. This brief examines overall and per capita Medicare spending for these beneficiaries, including variations…

  • Kaiser Family Foundation Resources on Deficit-Reduction Debate

    Report

    These Foundation resources shed light on how the ongoing national debate about deficit reduction may affect Medicare, Medicaid and other health-care programs. These resources include analysis of specific savings proposals, polling on the public’s views of deficit-reduction options, summaries and comparisons of relevant elements of major deficit-reduction plans, and explanatory briefs and backgrounders describing key issues related to the debate. Drew Altman: The News Media and Entitlement Reform   Medicare-Specific Analysis Policy Options to Sustain…

  • Prescription Drug Procurement and the Federal Budget

    Issue Brief

    This brief commissioned by the Foundation considers areas where Medicare faces limited opportunity for market-based competition and price negotiation to drive down drug spending. These areas include drug purchasing for low-income people enrolled in Part D plans who face minimal cost-sharing requirements, and purchasing certain unique drugs, such as biologicals, that have no therapeutic alternatives or competitors. Authored by Richard G. Frank of Harvard University, the brief discusses policy options that could lower Medicare spending…

  • The Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy Program: Experience to Date and Policy Issues for Consideration

    Issue Brief

    This policy brief examines the low-income subsidy program that provides premiums and cost-sharing assistance under Part D plans, documenting trends in both beneficiary and plan participation over time. With fewer plans available to low-income enrollees without having to pay a premium, and annual changes in those plans, the brief discusses challenges facing low-income Part D enrollees and strategies that could be used to increase the effectiveness of the subsidy program. It was prepared for the…

  • Role of Government Survey

    Poll Finding

    The Foundation, as part of The Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard University partnership series, conducted a poll to examine the public's views on the government and its role. The Role of Government Survey is the 20th in a series of surveys dating back to 1995 that have been conducted as part of this partnership project. Toplines (.pdf) Read The Washington Post articles on the survey:Beyond the tea party: What Americans really think of governmentEnergized GOP can…

  • Pulling it Together: The People Behind The Entitlement Debate

    Perspective

    Well before we have any clarity on the impact of the election on health reform, the pundits are handicapping the prospects of efforts to make a serious dent in the national debt and deficit.  Three national commissions are hammering out recommendations for reducing the debt and reining in entitlement spending, putting two giant health programs that serve the elderly, disabled and low-income Americans, Medicaid and Medicare, as well as Social Security, in the crosshairs of…