Medicare Matters: Building on a Record of Accomplishments

Medicare's successes over the past 35 years include doubling the number of persons age 65 or over with health insurance, increasing access to mainstream health care services, and substantially reducing the financial burdens faced by older Americans. Medicare reform remains high on the list of priorities of many policymakers because of rapid past and expected future growth in Medicare. If the original goals of the program—including providing mainstream care, pooling of risks, and offering help to those most in need—are to be protected, however, a go-slow approach for greater reliance on the private sector is in order.