@article {206411,
	title = {Public Financing Of The Medicare Program Will Make Its Uniform Structure Increasingly Costly To Sustain},
	journal = {Health Affairs},
	volume = {32},
	number = {5},
	year = {2013},
	pages = {882-890},
	abstract = {
	The US Medicare program consumes an ever-rising share of the\&nbsp;federal budget. Although this public spending can produce health and\&nbsp;social benefits, raising taxes to finance it comes at the cost of slower\&nbsp;economic growth. In this article we describe a model incorporating the\&nbsp;benefits of public programs and the cost of tax financing. The model\&nbsp;implies that the {\textquotedblleft}one-size-fits-all{\textquotedblright} Medicare program, with everyone\&nbsp;covered by the same insurance policy, will be increasingly difficult to\&nbsp;sustain. We show that a Medicare program with guaranteed basic benefits\&nbsp;and the option to purchase additional coverage could lead to more\&nbsp;unequal health spending but slower growth in taxation, greater overall\&nbsp;well-being, and more rapid growth of gross domestic product. Our\&nbsp;framework highlights the key trade-offs between Medicare spending and\&nbsp;economic prosperity.

},
	author = {Katherine Baicker and Mark Shepard and Skinner, Jonathan}
}
