Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues
Recent attention has focused on one specific measure of Medicare’s financial condition – the solvency of the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) trust fund, out of which Medicare Part A benefits are paid – because the HI trust fund is projected to be depleted in 2026, just five years from now. These FAQs answer key questions about Medicare financing and trust fund solvency.
This brief outlines the potential health policy actions that President Biden could take using executive authority, based on campaign pledges, and actions that would reverse or modify regulations or guidance issued by the Trump Administration.
This policy watch post discusses the latest Medicare Hospital Insurance trust fund solvency projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which show the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has hurt Medicare’s financial outlook, and foreshadow the tough choices facing the next President and Congress.
This brief discusses how drugs provided in inpatient hospital settings are covered and reimbursed for beneficiaries in traditional Medicare under current law. This is relevant for Medicare spending on COVID-19 patients who receive Gilead’s new antiviral drug remdesivir. We discuss the implications for hospitals and the Medicare program of spending on remdesivir.
This brief reviews findings from recent studies that compare Medicare and private health insurance payment rates for both hospital and physician services.
Test your knowledge about health facts, policy issues and proposals that are emerging among the 2020 presidential candidates. The 10 questions focus on health issues in the 2020 election, including: health care costs, prescription drug prices, the Affordable Care Act and changes in health insurance coverage, reproductive health, and Medicare-for-all and public option proposals.
This poll examines health care issues in the Democratic presidential primary , government negotiation of prescription drug prices, party trust on health care, Medicare-for-all, and the pending Texas v. US lawsuit affecting the Affordable Care Act and pre-existing condition protections.
This issue brief examines the latest facts about Medicare spending and financing, including the most recent historical and projected Medicare spending data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of the Actuary, the 2019 annual report of the Boards of Medicare Trustees, and the 2019 Medicare baseline and projections from the Congressional Budget Office. It discusses historical and projected spending trends, program financing, Medicare’s financial condition, and the future outlook.
This interactive graphic illustrates how poverty rates among seniors in each of the 50 states change under two different Census Bureau measures of poverty: the official poverty measure and an alternative supplemental poverty measure, which takes into account health care and housing costs among other factors.
