Modernizing Medicare

Modernizing Medicare

"Health policymaking has become increasingly contentious over recent decades. The editors observe that legislators in the coming years will need to address Medicare and its increasing share of the federal budget. Against this backdrop they offer a collection of highly regarded experts to weigh in on strategies that address both the large and growing fiscal needs of the program and the highly bureaucratic administration of the program--which they contend is not flexible enough to meet the needs of beneficiaries"--

Modernizing Medicare

Top policy experts offer Medicare reform solutions for the millions of seniors whose health care depends on America's fastest growing federal entitlement. In Modernizing Medicare, editors Robert Emmet Moffit and Marie Fishpaw bring together a rare combination of leading scholars and policy practitioners to outline a vision for Medicare reform and provide solutions for the millions of seniors whose health care depends on it. Contributors include a former Medicare trustee, a former Medicare administrator, and a former director of the Congressional Budget Office. Detailing Medicare's biggest problems, this team of top policy experts offer solutions based on personal freedom of choice, transparency of price and performance, and market competition among health plans and providers that will secure patients more affordable, more accountable, and higher quality medical care. They also address Medicare's reform needs and analyze the promising performance of the Medicare Advantage program. The authors outline Medicare's major financial problems and the best solutions for Medicare patients and taxpayers alike. While Medicare's accelerating spending is generating higher deficits and debt, standard cost-control strategies—such as payment reductions and price controls—jeopardize patients' access to high-quality care. Contributors: Joseph R. Antos, PhD; Doug Badger; Charles P. Blahous, PhD; Walton F. Francis; John C. Goodman, PhD; Edmund F. Haislmaier; Douglas Holtz-Eakin, PhD; Brian J. Miller, MD, MBA, MPH; Robert Emmet Moffit, PhD; Mark V. Pauly, PhD; Christopher M. Pope, PhD; Gail R. Wilensky, PhD.

President's 2003 Budget Proposals Featuring HHS Secretary Thompson