On August 5, the trustees of the Medicare system released their annual report for 2010. A key finding is that the recently enacted health reform legislation is expected to substantially improve the program’s finances. However, an accompanying memorandum from Medicare’s actuaries warned that the estimates in the trustees’ report are unlikely to actually result because they assume spending cuts under current law that will almost certainly be overridden by Congress.
On August 5, Health Affairs posted an article that compared the quality of care by U.S. trained physicians to those receiving medical degrees in other countries. It found that internationally trained physicians were equal or better in quality to those trained domestically.
On August 4, the Employee Benefit Research Institute issued a study of consumer-driven health plans such as health savings accounts.
On August 2, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a report on the Affordable Health Care Act. It projects very substantial savings in the Medicare program as a result of the legislation.
On August 1, Urban Institute economist John Holahan published two studies of the recently enacted health reform legislation. The first study looked at whether it will increase the national debt. It finds that the legislation is roughly deficit-neutral. The second study examined the impact of health reform on unemployment, finding no appreciable effect.
On July 28, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation published two reports on the impact of health reform on physicians and hospitals. Summary: “The authors, Robert Berenson and Stephen Zuckerman, both from the Urban Institute, conclude that under reform, hospitals will likely be able to improve the quality of their care without seeing much difference in their revenues and expenditures. Further, physicians will likely benefit financially as coverage expands—at worst they will be unaffected financially.”
A July 26 commentary by economist Richard Berner of Morgan Stanley argues that rising health insurance costs are a primary reason for the lack of employment growth.
A July 22 analysis of the recently enacted health reform legislation in Health Affairs concluded that the benefits are substantial, but the provisions designed to reduce long run costs are probably insufficient.
Also on July 22, RAND released a paper urging that Medicare allow Americans living in Mexico to receive Medicare benefits there rather than having to return to the US for health care. This would both lower Medicare’s costs and help improve the Mexican health care system.
I previous posted reading on health on June 9.
Bruce Bartlett is an American historian and columnist who focuses on the intersection between politics and economics. He blogs daily and writes a weekly column at The Fiscal Times. Read his most recent column here. Bartlett has written for Forbes Magazine and Creators Syndicate, and his work is informed by many years in government, including as a senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House. He is the author of seven books including the New York Times best-seller, Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006).
