The president took an extra week to develop his budget, but the extra time was apparently not enough to yield Medicare policies that could produce real savings. Competitive bidding offers a better solution, but only if we are willing to give it a chance.

For the second year in a row, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has advanced a comprehensive budget plan that would restructure Medicare and Medicaid, repeal the big-spending portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and ultimately resolve the fiscal crisis facing this country. 

Medicare spending is on autopilot, and it is coming in for a crash landing. Costs are projected to double to $900 billion over the next decade, and there is increasing evidence that Medicare does not provide good value for the money spent--paying too much or too little for necessary services,...

Our research shows that competitive bidding—a key feature of the Wyden-Ryan plan—could save Medicare $339 billion over ten years while maintaining basic benefits and without raising taxes. Crucially, the elderly would not be exposed to the risk of higher health care costs, as in approaches that would set fixed voucher payments toward the purchase of medical insurance.

The White House proposal to replace the current tax break for employer-sponsored health insurance with a standard tax deduction available to anyone buying insurance has raised a storm of controversy. Proponents argue that the proposal is fairer than the current system, provides real help for the uninsured, and promotes efficiency...

A review of Ahmad S. Hashim's Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency in Iraq.

Demographic, economic, and political forces have placed unprecedented demands on Medicare that cannot be met without major program reform. Policies are needed to change the fundamental incentives that drive provider and patient behavior in Medicare--and ultimately the entire health sector.

The rapid growth in college tuition and fees has outstripped changes in the Consumer Price Index. Who is benefiting from this extraordinary flow of money from students and their families to institutions of higher education?