Discusses current and future economic issues and the need for an aging population to claim benefits from the income of younger workers. Highlights include pensions, social security, Medicare, and Medicaid; demographic trends and how markets and politics respond to change; and implications for the future. (LRW)

This analysis of public and private sector spending for health services shows they have paralleled each other for four decades although total expenditures have grown dramatically. Since 1966 the federal government's major participation has been through the Medicare trust fund. Need for larger government role is predicted. (Editor/JT)

Describes targeting policies of four Social Health Maintenance Organization sites which deliver integrated, prepaid, acute, and chronic care to Medicare beneficiaries. Analyzes complexities of operationalizing targeting systems in four different settings. Notes that selection criteria for targeting expanded benefits and their implementation affect…

Points out that education is the only area where tax monies must be spent in a government agency. Indicates that Medicare can be used in a private hospital, social security can be spent anywhere, and food stamps do not have to be used in a government store. (JOW)

Discusses the feasibility of delivering combined health and social services to an elderly population. The social/health maintenance organization (S/HMO), incorporating features of health maintenance organizations with community social services, will be financed on a prepaid, capitated basis through premium contributions from Medicare, Medicaid,…

This paper looks at demographic and financial trends that can have an effect on the health care sector, the government reliance on projections of budget expenditures and the current budget deficit, and trends in health care expenditures and effects on the future of Social Security and Medicare. (MLW)

Discusses positive and negative effects of five federal health promotion initiatives: Medicare Prevention Benefits, Surgeon General's Reports, Healthy People 2000 and 2001, Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, and Put Prevention into Practice Campaign. Recommends additional research and coordination with state and private sector agencies.…

Purpose: We describe the impact of two interventions, a consumer-directed voucher for in-home supportive services and a chronic disease self-management-health-promotion nurse intervention, on the probability of use of two types of home care-skilled home health care and personal assistance services-received by functionally impaired Medicare…

An experiment is reported which utilized a professional medical care organization as the base for intern and resident education. The major reason for its failure was the rigidity of Medicare regulations. The data suggest the mechanism is feasible and could potentially obviate many problems of hospital-based programs. (Editor/JT)

This article addresses the issue of national health care. Neither Medicare nor Medicaid equitably meet the health needs of the entire population. The author suggests criteria which must be met by a national health program if it is to eliminate inequalities in costs, access to services and quality of care. (GC)

The number of poor elderly Blacks and the cost of health care are increasing. Even with Medicare there are out of pocket expenses for those who are least able to pay. Since racial bias may be a factor in triage, the best approach to reducing medical costs is prevention. (VM)

Claims that the lifetime cost of medicare per acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) patient will not exceed $80,000, an amount similar to the cost of treating other serious illnesses. Argues that the total projected costs for treating AIDS patients between 1981 and 1991 will not exceed $22 billion. (TW)

A cybernetic control program was designed to reduce inappropriate days of hospitalization for Medicare patients in four Western Maryland counties. Hospital stays for patients of 282 physicians were reviewed by physician advisers, with attention to the physician's volume of hospitalized patients and the number of inappropriate days of care.…

Examined how four Social/Health Maintenance Organizations (S/HMOs) were marketed during their first two operational years and identified characteristics associated with decision to enroll in these health plans. Results from telephone survey of Medicare beneficiaries revealed that enrollment in S/HMOs was affected by public awareness and perceived…

Two representatives in United States House of Representatives look at population trends and aging in America, describing the role they would like federal government to take in the future. Discusses issues related to older workers, retirement, local efforts, Medicare, preventive medicine, long-term care, and rights of the elderly. (NB)