Medicare, Medicaid, and Deficit Reduction.

Proposals to reduce the federal deficit have been coming from all directions. The general consensus is that reducing the federal deficit will require addressing the impact of entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. None of the deficitreduction proposals address the way care is delivered and paid for. Delivery and financing reforms have the potential to slow the growth in health expenditures which, in turn, will reduce the health care share of gross domestic product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]