Making the Transition to Prepaid Medicare

摘要

The Medicare system is facing a financial crisis, brought on by a combination of factors: 1) a financing system that relies on intergenerational transfers from workers to the elderly as its major source of revenue; 2) a payment scheme that traditionally has provided neither the demand nor the supply side of the market with strong incentives to hold down costs; and 3) the penchant of Congress to expand the coverage of the system over time, every time a worthy cause or group can be identified.