Document Type
Article
Date
2007
Keywords
Medicare; Medicaid; Budget gap; Health costs
Language
English
Disciplines
Economics
Description/Abstract
The United States spends a sixth of its GDP on health care. The costs of Medicare and Medicaid have grown along with the cost of health care in general in the United States. The paper addresses the large budget gap that will emerge in Medicare and Medicaid in the decades to come. It describes program financing and some of their main features and explains the projections of the U.S. Congressional Budget Office as well as those of the U.S. appointed Board of Trustees of Social Security, Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds. Finally, the article discusses measures that might be taken to close the budget gap facing the Medicare and Medicaid Porgrams.
Recommended Citation
Wasylenko, Michael, (2007), Health Care and the Looming Fiscal Crisis in the United States, Revista Chilena de Administracion Publica, issue Jun, p. 65-78.
Source
Google Scholar
Additional Information
This paper is based on a lecture given at the University of Chile on August 7, 2006.