HSM 544 Week 2 Case Study Assignment: Solving the Medicare Crisis
Introduction
You are chief of staff to your brother-in-law, Representative Howard Hughes, who was recently elected to fill out a term in Congress. He has been asked to participate in a panel discussion on the Medicare funding crisis. You have … to prepare paper for him. The panel is … to respond to a proposal for reducing Medicare expenditures by enrolling participants in HMOs. What does the Congressperson say? The following key questions must … addressed in the paper:
- Is Medicare in a state of crisis? Are radical measures necessary to preserve the program?
- How is Medicare … now? Why do elderly people feel that Medicare is an insurance program and not a welfare program? Is this perception accurate?
- Should there be a Medicare program at all? Why should the government … involved in providing insurance to elderly preople? Does Medicare have detrimental effects on the market for healthcare or on the market for health insurance?
- Are these economic effects, … by the positive effects of the Medicare program for the elderly? What about the positive effects of caring for the elderly for society? Are there any externalities here?
- Justify your position on either economic efficiency or equity grounds (or both).
- Your Congressperson wants to appear intelligent. Do not be afraid to refer to economic theory or theories of distributive justice.
STATUS
Assignment
Prepare a written response to the questions and requests following the Case Study:
In general, the length of this case study should be no less than six pages, double spaced.
The written assignment should … produced using a word processing program, produced in memo format, and addressed to your congress person from you. A guide for writing the case study is posted in Doc Sharing.
