As Washington continues to search for long-term solutions to reduce federal spending, with Medicare often at the forefront of these discussions, the Kaiser Family Foundation held a policy briefing Wednesday, Jan. 30, at 9:30 a.m. to explore options that could be considered to reduce Medicare spending, and their implications for beneficiaries.

Kaiser Family Foundation CEO Drew Altman provided opening remarks. The briefing featured a panel discussion with three former Medicare administrators –Mark McClellan of the Brookings Institution, Bruce Vladeck of Nexera, Inc. and Gail Wilensky of Project HOPE offered their insights on both the challenges facing Medicare and potential directions for future reforms. A second panel featured Medicare policy experts Joseph Antos of the American Enterprise Institute, Robert Berenson of the Urban Institute, Marilyn Moon of the American Institutes of Research, and Earl Steinberg of the Geisinger Health System, who shared their perspectives about various approaches under consideration to achieve Medicare savings, and the potential implications for beneficiaries, providers and the federal budget. Foundation Medicare experts Tricia Neuman and Juliette Cubanski moderated the panel discussions.