Cambridge Bioethics and Law: The Affordable Care Act and Medicare in Comparative Context

Burdened with perennially rising costs and responsible for providing health insurance to more than one sixth of all Americans, Medicare in its original form is fiscally and demographically unsustainable. In light of dramatic reforms under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), this book provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of Medicare. Eleanor D. Kinney explains how the ACA addresses systemic problems of cost and volume inflation, quality assurance, and fraud. Recognizing the potential for more radical change in the future, Kinney also explores the potential of Medicare to become a single-payer system. Comparisons are made with national health systems in Canada and the United Kingdom, from which the United States can draw valuable lessons. An approachable yet comprehensive account of Medicare and the ACA, this book will be invaluable for health care professionals and informed citizens.

1. Introduction; Part I. The Medicare Program: 2. The Medicare program, 3. The Medicare policy-making process and judicial review; 4. Taming the growth in Medicare expenditures; 5. Improving the quality of health care services; 6. Curbing fraud and abuse in the Medicare program; Part II. The Affordable Care Act and the Medicare Program: 7. The Affordable Care Act; 8. Improving the quality and efficiency of health care; 9. Major initiative under Title III: value-based purchasing of health care services; 10. Pilot programs for payment and quality reform under Title III; 11. Title VI: improving transparency and program integrity; 12. Major initiative under Title VI: the patient center research outcomes institute; Part III. The Future of Medicare in a Global Context: Lessons in Pragmatism: 13. The impact of the Affordable Care Act on the Medicare program; 14. The historical foundations for public health coverage in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States; 15. The health care systems of the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States; 16. The United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States compared; 17. Convergence on pragmatic health reform strategies for common problems; 18. Entrepreneurship in health care; Epilogue.