medical expenses

Medicare Myths--Don't Blame The Boomerrs

by: Paul Rosenberg

Sat Apr 19, 2008 at 09:01

Issues? Remember them?  Well, this has to do with a big one: Health Care, and the government role therein.

You probably know that the Social Security "crisis" is a myth.  You probably also know that the Boston Red Sox finally broke the curse of The Bambino.  But what about the "fact" that Baby Boomers are going to break the bank on Medicare?

Turns out, not so much.  The real problem is not aging Boomers.  It's a crazy incentive system that drives "innovation" and costs much faster and higher than it drives health results.  So resports Maggie Mahar, who blogs at Health Beat, a Century Foundation project, in an Alternet article, "The Mythology of Boomers Bankrupting Our Healthcare System".

In the 1 picture=1k words department, dig this:

Mahar's article is based on a presentation at the recent three-day "World Health Care Congress Europe" (WHCCE), by Princeton economist Uwe Reinhardt:

The only American to speak at WHCCE, Reinhardt focused on what he called "the folklore that people bring to the healthcare policy table." By nature an iconoclast, Reinhardt spent the next 20 minutes shattering some of the myths that have become part of the received wisdom among policymakers.

That picture above is from one of his slides.

More goodies on the flip....

There's More... :: (10 Comments, 1108 words in story)

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