With Medicare spending projected to increase to 24 percent of all federal spending and to equal 6 percent of the gross domestic product by 2037, policymakers are again considering ways to curb the program’s spending growth. In a study published in Health Affairs, researchers affiliated with MacArthur's Research Network on an Aging Society evaluate three scenarios as to how they might reduce cumulative Medicare spending, and find that while the scenarios are effective, their associated costs may result in a reduction in enrollment. The researchers argue that to achieve substantial cost savings without causing substantial lack of coverage among seniors, policymakers should consider benefit changes in combination with other options, such as some of those now being contemplated by the Obama administration and Congress.
