First published in 1997, this volume approaches the controversial issue of Medicare and its future. First passed in 1965 to aid payments for elderly and disabled medical care, the costs had ballooned in the 1990s, asking questions about how to improve its efficiency. An original goal of this book was to contextualise Medicare within the anticipated comprehensive restructuring of American healthcare. With Medicare 10% of the federal budget at the original time of publication, Marilyn Moon now takes another look at Medicare and discusses how the budget could be tightened without threatening the function of Medicare, with an emphasis on better targeting. In particular, the novel issue of means testing is explored. Having researched Medicare since 1981, Moon recasts her book by discussing issues including Medicare's context, ensuring access, containing costs, the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act, the potential for marginal changes, reducing costs, expanding Medicare and ultimately how Medicare should look to change.

First published in 1997, this volume approaches the controversial issue of Medicare and its future. First passed in 1965 to aid payments for elderly and disabled medical care, the costs had ballooned in the 1990s, asking questions about how to improve its efficiency. An original goal of this book was to contextualise Medicare within the anticipated comprehensive restructuring of American healthcare. With Medicare 10% of the federal budget at the original time of publication, Marilyn Moon now takes another look at Medicare and discusses how the budget could be tightened without threatening the function of Medicare, with an emphasis on better targeting. In particular, the novel issue of means testing is explored. Having researched Medicare since 1981, Moon recasts her book by discussing issues including Medicare's context, ensuring access, containing costs, the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act, the potential for marginal changes, reducing costs, expanding Medicare and ultimately how Medicare should look to change.

Come travel with me as I take you through the jobs of my travelling circus. We have all the performers which include animals, clowns, musicians, tightrope, juggles and trapeze acts. Are you kids ready? Let's go and start the show?

As the population ages, policymakers must evaluate the nation's readiness to assist a growing group of people with conditions requiring chronic and long-term care. Based on the 2002 annual meeting of the National Academy of Social Insurance, this new volume offers a variety of viewpoints from policymakers, researchers, and experts who examine how well the needs of the elderly and disabled Americans are being met by today's financing and delivery systems, in light of potential reform options. Particular attention is paid to care coordination issues --namely, the impact of acute-care policies on long-term and chronic care --to draw attention to how the segmentation of healthcare provision can create disruptions in patient care. Authors address the advantages and disadvantages of varying levels of state, federal, and private involvement in long-term care. Clearly, for people to access appropriate long-term care today and tomorrow, a careful balance of financing sources and integrated health care must be achieved. Researchers, analysts, and policymakers, therefore, will find this volume useful to informing thoughtful analysis of important long-term care issues.

For some, Medicare is a model of what national health insurance could be in the United States. Despite its low administrative costs and significant contributions to the well-being of America's oldest and most disabled citizens, some critics assail the program as being out of sync with the needs of many senior citizens, while others often refer to it as "unsustainable" because of its high costs. Physicians and hospital administrators endlessly criticize and debate Medicare but rely upon it for a substantial share of their revenues. In Medicare: A Policy Primer, Marilyn Moon explains what Medicare is, how it works, and where it's headed. She examines the problems facing the program and which reform options hold the most promise. She also examines the history of Medicare and how the program works in the broader context of health care, the federal government, and the economy. It is a clear introduction to one of the most critical debates in health policy and an important volume for anyone interested in the future of Medicare.