Medicare

Medicare is the second-largest federal program and provides subsidized medical insurance for the elderly and certain disabled people. CBO’s work on Medicare includes projections of federal spending under current law, cost estimates for legislative proposals, and analyses of specific aspects of the program and options for changing it.

  • Drugs
    Report
    Prices for and Spending on Specialty Drugs in Medicare Part D and Medicaid

    In 2015, brand-name specialty drugs accounted for about 30 percent of net spending on prescription drugs under Medicare Part D and Medicaid, but they accounted for only about 1 percent of all prescriptions dispensed in each program.

  • The Federal Budget in CBO's Extended Baseline
    Report
    The 2018 Long-Term Budget Outlook

    If current laws remain generally unchanged, CBO projects, federal budget deficits and debt would increase over the next 30 years—reaching the highest level of debt relative to GDP in the nation’s history by far.

  • Report
    A Premium Support System for Medicare: Updated Analysis of Illustrative Options

    CBO presents new estimates of the budgetary effects of options for a premium support system for Medicare and examines the reasons for the changes in the estimates, including changes in law that have affected the Medicare program.

  • Report
    The 2017 Long-Term Budget Outlook

    If current laws remained generally unchanged, the United States would face steadily increasing federal budget deficits and debt over the next 30 years—reaching the highest level of debt relative to GDP ever experienced in this country.

  • Report
    Competition and the Cost of Medicare’s Prescription Drug Program

    Why has Medicare's prescription drug program cost less than anticipated when the program was created? How has competition between plan sponsors affected spending? How do Medicare Part D drug prices compare to those in Medicaid?