Blumenthal: Cutting Medicare Benefits Not a Long-Term Solution
<p>Speaking this afternoon at a <a href="/publications/publication/2013/feb/testimony-stabilizing-and-strengthening-medicare-context-broader">U.S. Senate hearing</a> on ways to strengthen the Medicare program, Commonwealth Fund president David Blumenthal, M.D., made the case for "comprehensive payment and delivery system changes that produce lower costs and better value not just in Medicare, but across the entire U.S. health system." </p><p>At the hearing, held by the Senate's Special Committee on Aging, Blumenthal said that while cutting Medicare payments to providers, reducing program benefits, or restricting program eligibility may produce short-term savings, such drastic steps "would be both morally and politically difficult, as they shift costs onto elderly Americans, renege on historic promises, and raise the prospect of second-class care for a group that is particularly vulnerable." </p>
<p>Watch the <a href="http://aging.senate.gov/hearing_detail.cfm?id=339799&" target="_blank">hearing live</a> and download Blumenthal’s complete testimony and PowerPoint slides at <a href="/publications/publication/2013/feb/testimony-stabilizing-and-strengthening-medicare-context-broader">commonwealthfund.org</a>. </p>