Medicare: Spending and Financing - Kaiser Family Foundation

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Medicare: Spending and Financing

Primer on Medicare Financing
This primer provides an overview of Medicare's financing, examines several methods of assessing the program's long-term financial outlook, and looks at various policy options under discussion to control costs.

Brief Examines Proposed Medicare Spending Changes In Historical Context
This analysis examines the proposed 10-year Medicare savings and increased spending in health reform plans being considered in the House and Senate in historical context.

Recent Documents: (35 results)

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Medicare Part D Spotlight: Part D Plan Availability in 2010 and Key Changes Since 2006 -- November 2009
This initial analysis examines the stand-alone Medicare drug plan options that will be available to beneficiaries in 2010, including the number of available, premiums for those plans, and benefit designs.

Side-by-Side Comparison of Key Medicare Provisions in 2009 Health Reform Legislation -- November 2009
This brief describes the major Medicare provisions relating to benefit changes, Medicare Advantage, the Medicare prescription drug benefit, physician and other provider payment reforms, and other health system reforms in the Senate Finance proposal and the House Tri-Committee bill.

Setting Medicare Payment Policy: Is There a Role for an Independent Entity? -- October 2009
This issue brief considers questions associated with the establishment of a new entity to set Medicare payment policy and the implications for beneficiaries, other stakeholders, and program spending. The idea is being considered as part of health form as a way to improve Medicare's efficiency and control health care costs.

The Social Security COLA and Medicare Part B Premium: Questions, Answers, and Issues -- October 2009
This brief explains how the lack of a cost-of-living increase for Social Security recipients in 2010, and no or low increases through 2012, will affect beneficiaries' monthly premiums for Medicare Part B, as well as the implications for the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Medicare Savings in Perspective: A Comparison of 2009 Health Reform Legislation and Other Laws in the Last 15 Years -- October 2009
The policy brief examines the changes in Medicare spending included in the health reform proposals under consideration in the House and Senate with earlier laws enacted over the past 15 years, providing context for the scope of the changes.

Explaining Health Care Reform: What is Comparative Effectiveness Research? -- October 2009
The brief examines current funding for comparative effectiveness research, the provisions included in the current health reform legislation, and issues related to which treatments that might be studied, whether and how to weigh costs of care, and how such findings will be used and shared with health-care practitioners and the public.

Strategies for Reining In Medicare Spending Through Delivery System Reforms: Assessing the Evidence and Opportunities -- September 2009
This report commissioned by the Kaiser Family Foundation assesses the potential for various proposed delivery-system reforms to strengthen Medicare’s long-term fiscal outlook.

Health Coverage and Expenses: Impact on Older Women's Economic Well-Being -- August 2009
In this article in the Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, researchers from the Kaiser Family Foundation examine how health issues that women face over the course of their lives, as well as policies that shape Medicare, Medicaid and other supplemental coverage, can affect retired women's economic well-being.

A Primer on Medicare Financing -- July 2009
This primer provides an overview of Medicare’s financing, examines several methods of assessing the program’s long-term financial outlook, and looks at various policy options under discussion to control costs both for Medicare and for the nation's overall health care system.

Explaining Health Care Reform: How Might a Reform Plan Be Financed? -- July 2009
This brief explains the likely sources of added costs under health reform, the types of financing measures being considered, and some of the key questions likely to be addressed by how a plan is financed.

This initial analysis examines the stand-alone Medicare drug plan options that will be available to beneficiaries in 2010, including the number of available, premiums for those plans, and benefit designs.

This brief describes the major Medicare provisions relating to benefit changes, Medicare Advantage, the Medicare prescription drug benefit, physician and other provider payment reforms, and other health system reforms in the Senate Finance proposal and the House Tri-Committee bill.

This issue brief considers questions associated with the establishment of a new entity to set Medicare payment policy and the implications for beneficiaries, other stakeholders, and program spending. The idea is being considered as part of health form as a way to improve Medicare's efficiency and control health care costs.

This brief explains how the lack of a cost-of-living increase for Social Security recipients in 2010, and no or low increases through 2012, will affect beneficiaries' monthly premiums for Medicare Part B, as well as the implications for the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

The policy brief examines the changes in Medicare spending included in the health reform proposals under consideration in the House and Senate with earlier laws enacted over the past 15 years, providing context for the scope of the changes.

The brief examines current funding for comparative effectiveness research, the provisions included in the current health reform legislation, and issues related to which treatments that might be studied, whether and how to weigh costs of care, and how such findings will be used and shared with health-care practitioners and the public.

This report commissioned by the Kaiser Family Foundation assesses the potential for various proposed delivery-system reforms to strengthen Medicare’s long-term fiscal outlook.

In this article in the Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, researchers from the Kaiser Family Foundation examine how health issues that women face over the course of their lives, as well as policies that shape Medicare, Medicaid and other supplemental coverage, can affect retired women's economic well-being.

This primer provides an overview of Medicare’s financing, examines several methods of assessing the program’s long-term financial outlook, and looks at various policy options under discussion to control costs both for Medicare and for the nation's overall health care system.

This brief explains the likely sources of added costs under health reform, the types of financing measures being considered, and some of the key questions likely to be addressed by how a plan is financed.

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Medicare: Spending and Financing

Spending on Medicare is estimated to account for 13 percent of federal spending in 2009. Inpatient hospital services comprise the largest share of Medicare benefit payments, followed by payments to Medicare Advantage plans, physician visits, and prescription drug benefits. Medicare spending is highly concentrated among a small share of beneficiaries, and varies by eligibility category. Funding for Medicare comes primarily from payroll tax revenues, general revenues, and premiums paid by beneficiaries. Looking to the future, Medicare is expected to face significant financing challenges due to the aging of the U.S. population, the declining ratio of workers to beneficiaries, increasing health care costs, and various economic factors. How to ensure the program’s financial stability over the long term without shifting excessive costs onto beneficiaries, while meeting the health care needs of an aging population, is a pressing challenge for the nation.