The enactment of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) changed dramatically the context for discussions of Medicare policy. Policy discussions since the BBA have sharpened two major pathways for dialogue/debate:
- appropriate and equitable payment for services, either through traditional Medicare fee-for-service payments or through Medicare+Choice monthly premiums; and
- appropriate and necessary changes to the program to assure long term solvency and adequate, affordable benefits for beneficiaries.
This draft report was written by Health Panel members Andrew Coburn, Charles Fluharty, J. Patrick Hart, A. Clinton MacKinney, Timothy McBride, Keith Mueller, Rebecca Slifkin, Mary Wakefield; published Aug. 28, 2000.
