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Tuesday December 2, 2008

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Medicare

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioA Shot in the Arm for Medicare Part D

Jeffrey R. Kling, Sendhil Mullainathan, Eldar Shafir, Lee Vermeulen and Marian V. Wrobel, November 20, 2008, Ideas42

A Shot in the Arm for Medicare Part DA new study by Economic Studies Deputy Director Jeffrey R. Kling and Ideas42 researchers has found that seniors are more likely to switch Medicare healthcare plans and save substantial amounts by changing from their existing plan. Given the overall state of the economy and recent news that drug plans are increasing their premiums up to 64 percent, the study can help inform the 24 million seniors in the program to shop around for the best price as open enrollment for Medicare Part D drug plans begins this month. Read More

Health Care, Medicare, Saving

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioChoosy Seniors Can Save on Prescriptions

Jeffrey R. Kling, November 18, 2008, The News & Observer

The six-week annual open season for choosing health care options is under way. If you, or someone that you know, has prescription drug insurance from Medicare Part D, here's an idea that could save a bundle over the next year: consider switching plans, says Jeffrey Kling. Read More

Medicare, Health Care, Saving

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioRebuild Economic Confidence by Reforming Entitlements

Isabel V. Sawhill, Robert L. Bixby and Stuart Butler, November 17, 2008, The Washington Times

“Washington may bail out Wall Street. But who will bail out Washington?” The Fiscal Wake-Up Tour group, Robert Bixby, Stuart Butler and Isabel Sawhill, discusses the importance of fundamentally recasting Medicare versus solely focusing on immediate health care reform. Read More

Health Care, Medicare, Medicaid, Financial Markets, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioWaste and the Health Care System

Henry J. Aaron, October 30, 2008, The New England Journal of Medicine

Waste and the Health Care SystemAccording to a widely held view, the U.S. health care system is replete with waste, the removal of which can finance health care reform. Unfortunately, what waste really means is poorly understood, and the potential for realizing quick savings is quite limited. Several measures hold out the promise of curbing the growth of health care spending, but savings are likely to be slow in coming says Henry Aaron. Read More

Health Care, Medicare, Medicaid, U.S. Economy

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioWhy We Need to Cut Seniors' Benefits

Isabel V. Sawhill, October 24, 2008, CNNMoney.com

Isabel Sawhill discusses the big three of entitlement programs - Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid and how they will wreak havoc on the country's finances (and yours) unless we scale them back. Read More

Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Intergenerational Equity

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioRising to the Challenge of Real Health Care Reform

Mark B. McClellan, October 2008, Campaigns & Elections Politics

The high and rising cost of expanding coverage is a major reason why previous attempts to achieve universal coverage have not succeeded, and why reform will keep getting harder, writes Mark McClellan, if we use the same approaches as in the past. Read More

Health Care, Medicare, Medicaid, U.S. Economy

PAST EVENT

Save to My PortfolioReforming Medicare: Options, Tradeoffs, and Opportunities

Wednesday, July 30, 2008
10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Washington, DC

As baby-boomers begin to retire and health care spending continues to outpace income growth, Medicare faces a dire financial future and needs reform. To help guide the debate that will precede this reform, Henry Aaron and Jeanne Lambrew have written Reforming Medicare: Options, Tradeoffs, and Opportunities which outlines three broad approaches to reform. At this event, Aaron, Lambrew and other advocates discussed the three different reform strategies. Read More

Health Care, Medicare, Retirement, Aging

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioA Balanced Approach to Restoring Fiscal Responsibility

Henry J. Aaron and Charles L. Schultze, July 2008, The Brookings Institution

A Balanced Approach to Restoring Fiscal ResponsibilityWith baby boomers beginning to retire and health care spending outpacing income growth, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security face an uncertain financial future. Henry Aaron, Charles Schultze and other experts propose a radical change in budget procedures to address the budget deficits currently projected for future decades. Read More

Fiscal Policy, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Taxes

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioCandidate Issue Index: Fiscal Responsibility

Isabel V. Sawhill, July 02, 2008, The Brookings Institution

Candidate Issue Index: Fiscal ResponsibilityIsabel Sawhill presents leading presidential candidates' positions on issues of fiscal responsibility, including: taxes, government programs and budgetary process issues . This chart is part of a series of issue indices to be published during the 2008 presidential election cycle. Read More

Taxes, Medicaid, Medicare, Budget Deficit, U.S. Economy

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioClosing Budget Deficits: An Entitlements Commission is Not the Answer

Henry J. Aaron, June 24, 2008, House Committee on the Budget

Closing Budget Deficits: An Entitlements Commission is Not the AnswerHenry J. Aaron testified before the House Committee on the Budget about H.R. 3654, a bill that would establish a federal budget commission to "reform tax policy and entitlement benefit programs and ensure a sound fiscal future." Read More

Fiscal Policy, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Health Care

VIDEO

Save to My PortfolioAddressing our Nation’s Fiscal Future

The Honorable Jim Cooper (D-TN) and The Honorable Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), June 18, 2008

Addressing our Nation’s Fiscal FutureTwo distinguished members of Congress: Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) and Representative Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) spoke at a Brookings forum on methods to correct the unsustainable path of our current fiscal policies. Rep. Ryan, the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, addressed containing government spending by restructuring the tax code, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Rep. Cooper is a Democrat on the House Budget Committee and a member of the Blue Dog Coalition. He recently introduced the “Securing America’s Future Economy Commission Act” or SAFE Act, which would establish a commission to address the long-term fiscal outlook. Senior Fellow Isabel Sawhill moderated the panel.

Fiscal Policy, Taxes, Health Care, Medicaid, Medicare

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioPresidential Candidates Should Address Looming Budget Deficits

Isabel V. Sawhill, May 26, 2008, The Salt Lake Tribune

With Congress poised to approve a budget blueprint that offers no relief for long-term deficit woes, Isabel Sawhill says that it’s time for presidential candidates to discuss ways to reshape the nation’s fiscal priorities and return to a more responsible path. Right now, she writes, little is being done to prevent a disaster. Read More

Fiscal Policy, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, Budget Deficit

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioFacing the Music: The Fiscal Outlook at the End of the Bush Administration

Alan J. Auerbach, Jason Furman and William G. Gale, May 08, 2008, The Brookings Institution

Facing the Music: The Fiscal Outlook at the End of the Bush AdministrationAlan J. Auerbach, Jason Furman and William Gale discuss the most recent Congressional Budget Office baseline projection, and use it to examine the causes of the fiscal decline since 2000 and the medium- and longer-term fiscal outlook. Read More

Fiscal Policy, Taxes, Social Security, Medicare, Retirement

BOOK

Save to My PortfolioReforming Medicare

Henry J. Aaron and Jeanne M. Lambrew, May 01, 2008

Aaron and Lambrew provide essential insight into the types of hybrid Medicare policies that Congress will consider in coming years. Read More

Medicare, Health Care

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioBudget Chaos: What, Me Worry?

Bill Frenzel and Ron Haskins, April 07, 2008, The Washington Times

Budget Chaos: What, Me Worry?As the baby boomers begin to retire this year, the burden of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will grow relentlessly. With more people in the programs and more expensive benefits, the nation will quickly encounter a budget disaster. Bill Frenzel and Ron Haskins say that dramatic reforms are needed to avoid budget chaos for future generations. Read More

Fiscal Policy, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, Budget Deficit

In Brief

America’s largest public health program has contributed substantially to the well-being of America’s oldest citizens. Some say Medicare represents a working model of national health insurance. A new prescription drug benefit was a rare bipartisan compromise. Yet with costs increasing by 6.5 percent annually, reining in Medicare’s soaring costs is considered crucial to future budget solvency.

Featured Experts

Mark B. McClellan

Mark B. McClellan

Director, Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform
Leonard D. Schaeffer Director's Chair in Health Policy

A medical doctor and economist, Mark McClellan works on promoting high-quality, innovative and affordable health care. Once commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. McClellan now directs the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform.
Read More

Alice M. Rivlin

Alice M. Rivlin

Senior Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program, Economic Studies

Alice Rivlin, the first director of the Congressional Budget Office, is an expert on urban issues as well as fiscal, monetary and social policy. She directs the Greater Washington Research project. 
Read More

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Spotlight

ExpertMartin S. Indyk

Ambassador to Israel and assistant secretary of state for near east affairs during the Clinton Administration, Martin Indyk directs the Saban Center for Middle East Policy. He currently focuses on the Clinton administration’s diplomacy and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Research ProjectThe Hamilton Project

The Hamilton Project produces research and policy proposals on how to create a growing economy that benefits more Americans. Their agenda also focuses on enhancing individual economic security and effective public investments. 

ExpertMauricio Cárdenas

Mauricio Cárdenas is a senior fellow and director of the Latin American Initiative. Formerly minister of Economic Development and Transportation, and director of National Planning of Colombia, his research focuses on international and development economics. He is also the president of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA).

ExpertSarah A. Binder

Sarah Binder is an expert on Congress and legislative politics.  She is completing a project on the politics of advice and consent, and is at work on the politics of how Congress responds to financial crises.

ExpertJulia B. Isaacs

Julia Isaacs focuses on public investments in children and how children are affected by national budgetary policies. A former federal budget analyst, she also researches the economic mobility of children and families across the income spectrum.

ExpertSuzanne Maloney

Suzanne Maloney studies Iran, the political economy of the Persian Gulf and Middle East energy policy. A former U.S. State Department policy advisor, she has also counseled private companies on Middle East issues.

TopicMigration

Migration is an issue that bridges Brookings’s expertise in domestic and foreign policy. In the United States, reforming immigration policy remains a subject of intense political debate. Globally, the unprecedented movement of people across borders raises issues in both industrialized countries and the developing world.

ExpertCarlos Pascual

Carlos Pascual is a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. As vice president and director of Foreign Policy, he focuses on post-conflict stabilization and international security policy.

TOPICThe Presidential Transition

During the 77 days from the election to the Inauguration, Brookings experts will offer 12 "Memos to the President" on top policy priorities across the spectrum of domestic and global challenges, plus additional advice on transitioning from campaigning to governing.

ExpertEswar Prasad

Eswar Prasad, the Tolani Senior Professor of Trade Policy at Cornell University, is a senior fellow in Global Economy and Development. He was previously head of the Financial Studies Division and the China Division at the IMF.

ExpertHugh B. Price

Former president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League, Hugh Price is an expert on education, civil rights, equal opportunity and criminal justice. His 40-year career spans journalism, philanthropy, the law, and social advocacy.

ExpertDarrell M. West

Darrell M. West is the vice president and director of Governance Studies at Brookings. His studies include campaigns and elections, political advertising, mass media, public opinion, technology policy and electronic government.

ProgramGovernance Studies

Governance Studies explores political institutions of the United States and other democracies to assess how they govern, how their practices compare and how citizens and public servants can advance sound governance.

Research ProjectLatin America Initiative

The Latin America Initiative provides high-quality, in-depth, and independent research across a range of economic and political issues, and offers policy recommendations aimed at U.S. and Latin American policymakers.

ExpertMark B. McClellan

A medical doctor and economist, Mark McClellan works on promoting high-quality, innovative and affordable health care. Once commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. McClellan now directs the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform.

Policy CenterEngelberg Center for Health Care Reform

The Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform provides practical solutions to achieve high-quality, innovative, affordable health care with particular emphasis on identifying opportunities on the national, state and local levels.

ExpertDouglas W. Elmendorf

Doug Elmendorf, whose government posts have included the Federal Reserve, Treasury, Council of Economic Advisors, and CBO, focuses his research on macroeconomics and fiscal policy. He is co-editor of the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity and director of The Hamilton Project, which develops proposals for shared growth.

ExpertRebecca Blank

Rebecca Blank is an expert on the interaction between the macroeconomy, government anti-poverty programs, and the behavior and well being of low-income families. She has just been named the Robert S. Kerr senior fellow at Brookings.