And introduction -- Traditional Medicare and private health plans -- Issues in designing a premium support system for Medicare -- Health care systems that are similar to premium support -- Potential effects of selected approaches to premium support -- Technical aspects of the analysis -- Supplementary tables.

And introduction -- Traditional Medicare and private health plans -- Issues in designing a premium support system for Medicare -- Health care systems that are similar to premium support -- Potential effects of selected approaches to premium support -- Technical aspects of the analysis -- Supplementary tables.

Over the past several decades, the idea of transforming Medicare from its current structure to one known as "premium support" has been raised intermittently as an approach for reforming the Medicare program, often in the context of efforts to reduce the federal debt and deficit. The primary goals of a premium support system are to reduce the growth in Medicare spending, and rely more on a competitive marketplace. While the parameters of various premium support proposals differ, the general idea is for the federal government to make a predetermined contribution on behalf of each person on Medicare that would be applied toward the premium for a health insurance plan. This approach contrasts with the current Medicare program under which Medicare beneficiaries are entitled to a defined set of benefits, with the federal government contributing to the cost of these services, provided by either the traditional fee-for-service (FFS) program or Medicare Advantage plans.