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  4. Spring 2000
  5. Medicare Reform: The Larger Picture

Journal of Economic Perspectives

ISSN 0895-3309 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7965 (Online)

Medicare Reform: The Larger Picture

  • Victor R. Fuchs
Journal of Economic Perspectives
vol. 14, no. 2, Spring 2000
(pp. 57–70)
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Abstract

The "Medicare problem" is examined as part of the larger problem of providing for the overall financial needs of the elderly. Several myths about Medicare are discussed, and sources and uses of the elderly's "full income" are estimated. The paper explores policy options to deal with technology-induced increases in health care expenditures and excessive dependence of the elderly on transfers from the young. The paper concludes that if Americans wish to continue to enjoy the benefits of medical advances, they will have to work before and after age 65 and will have to increase their rate of saving substantially.

Citation

Fuchs, Victor, R. 2000. "Medicare Reform: The Larger Picture." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 14 (2): 57–70. DOI: 10.1257/jep.14.2.57

JEL Classification

  • I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
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