Today's physician education system produces trained doctors with strong scientific underpinnings in biological and physical sciences as well as supervised practical experience in delivering care. Significant financial public support underlies the graduate-level training of the nation's physicians. Two federal programs--Medicare and…

This study investigated the association between multimorbidity and persistent depression among cohorts of veterans with diabetes, heart disease, or hypertension. The retrospective longitudinal analysis used national administrative data on around 1.38 million Veteran Health Administration clinic users merged with Medicare claims data.…

Context: The Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997 and other recent policies have led to reduced Medicare funding for home health agencies (HHAs) and visits per beneficiary. Purpose: We examine the staffing characteristics of stable Medicare-certified HHAs across rural and urban counties from 1996 to 2002, a period encompassing the changes associated…

Sweeping changes to the Medicare program embodied in the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), including a new prescription drug benefit, changes in payment policies, and reform of the Medicare managed-care program, have major implications for rural health care. The most efficient mechanism for research to…

This document updates a recent report by the General Accounting Office (GAO) which compared Medicare catastrophic health insurance proposals. The update includes H.R. 2470, as passed by the House of Representatives and S. 1127, as reported by the Senate Committee on Finance. An introduction explains the roles of Medicare, Medicaid, the Veterans…

This document presents Congressman Claude Pepper's report on the Medicare Home Care Benefit. Section I traces the history of home health care in the United States. Section II offers statistics and general background information about older Americans and Medicare. The beginning of the Medicare home care benefit and its present operation are…

In response to a request from the chairman of the Congressional Select Committee on Aging, the General Accounting Office (GAO) investigated the potential effects of legislative proposals to provide catastrophic coverage to Medicare beneficiaries on beneficiaries' out-of-pocket health care expenses. The GAO reviewed GAO and other reports to…

In this Gerontological Society of America-sponsored Congressional Briefing Seminar, authorities from several disciplines summarize history, rationale, strengths, weaknesses, and future challenges of Medicare program. In current arena of health care reform, role of Medicare is far from certain, and it is crucial to understand and confront multitude…

The federal government invests significantly in medical education through various programs to help ensure that the anticipated supply of new physicians meets the nation's health care needs. Medicare, the federal health care program for elderly and certain disabled people, subsidizes training for medical school graduates in hospitals and other…

Purpose: The burden of prescription drug costs on Medicare beneficiaries has become a critical policy issue in improving the Medicare program, yet few studies have provided detailed and current information on that burden. The present study estimates total and out-of-pocket expenditures for prescription drugs and the burden of these costs in…

This document contains witness testimonies and prepared statements from the Congressional hearing called to examine issues involved in maintaining and strengthening Medicare Health Maintenance Orgranizations (HMO). Opening statements are included from Representatives Edward Roybal, Matthew Rinaldo, Mario Biaggi, Don Bonker, Robert Borski, Louise…

This paper begins by noting that at the time that Medicare was enacted in 1965, the plans for funding Medicare through a mix of public and private financing mechanisms seemed quite adequate. It goes on to explain how, 20 years later, the situation is changing enough to create a need to examine whether there is a fairer or more efficient way to…

Discusses the implications of the Medicare program's rate setting system on health care reform and considers whether such a procedure could be applied to a health insurance system that included children. Examines desirable characteristics of a provider payment system, special health needs of children, and hospital and physician payment issues.…

Experience gathered to date confirms that capitation of Medicare does not necessarily decrease quality of health care and may in fact encourage an improvement in health care quality. Incentives inherent in capitated reimbursement are threefold. First, practitioners, by not receiving more payment for more service, are discouraged from providing…

In response to a request by Senator John Melcher of the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging, the General Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed legislative proposals designed to protect Medicare enrollees from the financial hardships that often accompany catastrophic illness. The GAO originally examined six legislative proposals introduced…