NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH
NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH

Medicare Reform: The Larger Picture

Victor R. Fuchs

NBER Working Paper No. 7504*
Issued in January 2000
NBER Program(s):   AG    HC

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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 more before and after age 65 and will have to increase substantially their rate of saving.

*Published: Fuchs, Victor R. "Medicare Reform: The Larger Picture," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2000, v14(2,Spring), 57-70.

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