The Century Foundation Task Force on Medicare Reform urged policymakers to focus on reducing the economic vulnerability of older Americans and improving their health, rather than basing policy primarily on Medicare’s potential financial difficulties. In their report, the task force states that Medicare’s longstanding goals and commitments should be preserved and pursued more effectively, despite the higher price tag that the program is likely to carry in the future as more people enter the program and medical costs continue to rise. The group also calls for an outpatient prescription drug benefit within Medicare, noting that many of the ailments that required surgery when the program was created in 1965 can be managed by medications today.

The task force's report examines changes to Medicare and proposed reforms to the program, with an emphasis on how they may affect Medicare beneficiaries and their families. It puts forth a set of principles that should be used as the basis for any substantial reforms to Medicare. The report suggests that policymakers ought to focus on what a well-designed Medicare program should look like rather than dwelling primarily on the program’s potential financing difficulties. The volume also includes background papers on competition-based reforms to Medicare, written by Lisa Potetz; and on supplemental and employer-sponsored insurance, written by Thomas Rice. View a list of task force members.

Click on the links below to download excerpts from the report:

• Foreword (PDF), by Richard C. Leone
• Introduction: Principles and Summary (PDF)
• Social Insurance (Ch. 1) (PDF)
• Benefits Packages (Ch. 3) (PDF)