[Medicare Benefits and Financing] [3+4 of 4]

Records in this series were generated from 1983 through 1994. Material types include notes, memos, reports, correspondence, and impact statements. Most document various aspects of the Medicare and Medicaid programs and their place in yearly budget proposals. As both programs, particularly Medicare, consume a substantial portion of the federal budget--in 1993 Medicare and Medicaid programs were expected to account for fifty percent of the growth in the federal deficit through 1998--many of the files in this series are about reducing the cost of these programs. Files on related budget issues can be found in the Health Care Budget series. Files in this series contain information relating to the specific features of health care coverage by Medicare and Medicaid: inpatient and outpatient hospital care, some nursing home care, home health care and hospice care information, physician services, outpatient hospital services, treatment for specific conditions such as end-stage renal disease, laboratory services, durable medical equipment, health screening services for children, physician services, prescription drug services, and others. Issues discussed are ways to maintain the quality of services delivered, strategies for reducing costs and their impacts, and the setting of eligibility levels. These files were maintained by Christine Williams. Files on Medicare and Medicaid may also be found in Health Care Reform, Health Care Budgets, and the Long-Term Care series.