The Hastings Center

Tag: medicare

  • Medicare and Social Security: Conjoined Twins

    Although I grew up in a middle class family in Washington, D.C., my father, one of the pioneers in the early days of radio, was in and out of jobs over the years, usually fired. We went from elegant parties with small orchestras in our home one year to taking in a boarder the next.…

  • Myths about Medicare, the Deficit, and Consumer Choice

    Before Medicare began in 1965, many American senior citizens – and their children – struggled to pay for their doctor bills. Ever since, Medicare’s been an American success story. Why, then, do so many Beltway pundits and members of Congress – including Mitt Romney’s running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan,  – go after it? Some of…

  • Medicare Losses Today and Tomorrow

    The single largest transfer payment that the government makes is to the Medicare program. For the calendar year of 2011, the Medicare premium and interest receipts were $306.7 billion, while the expenditures were $549.1 billion, requiring a draw on the general funds of the government of $242.4 billion.