Reflections on Implementing Medicare, originally printed in the spring of 1993, provides a historical reflection on the early days of a program enacted in 1965 to provide health care coverage to 19 million elderly Americans. This second edition was released by the study panel on Medicare...

American elders saw sharp gains in their incomes and declines in poverty during the 1960s and 70s and have had smaller gains since. Updated poverty measures show that seniors are as likely as children to be poor. When Social Security and pensions are converted to asset values, a typical...