Medicare

Abstract

Medicare plays a central role in American medical care and is enormously important for persons with chronic illnesses. For over 50 years, Medicare has provided health insurance to older Americans, ensuring access to medical services and a measure of financial security during retirement. Since 1972, the program has additionally insured persons with permanent disabilities and end-stage renal disease. In 2021, Medicare had over 63 million beneficiaries, a number that will continue to rise during the next decade as the baby boom generation retires. Medicare also has an enormous role in shaping health care payment and delivery. It is the single largest purchaser of medical services in the United States and a major source of income for physicians, hospitals, and other medical providers. The decisions that Medicare makes about how to pay providers, and what types of medical care delivery to promote and experiment with, reverberate across American medicine. The future of payment and delivery reform depends in no small part on their fortunes in Medicare.