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The distribution of lifetime Medicare benefits, taxes and premiums: Evidence from individual level data

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  • Rettenmaier, Andrew J.

Abstract

The absence of individual level data linking earnings histories to the receipt of Medicare benefits has hampered the study of the program's distributional properties. Data developed by the Social Security Administration for an early cohort of Medicare beneficiaries includes both earnings records and Medicare payment records and thus overcomes this limitation. For this early cohort, lifetime benefits and taxes are found to rise with lifetime earnings, but taxes rise more rapidly resulting in redistribution from higher to lower earning beneficiaries. Lifetime benefits in the top decile of the earnings distribution are 19% higher than in the bottom decile, but taxes and premiums are four times higher in the top than in the bottom decile. Once taxes and premiums are subtracted, net benefits in the top decile are 79% of net benefits in the bottom decile

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  • Rettenmaier, Andrew J., 2012. "The distribution of lifetime Medicare benefits, taxes and premiums: Evidence from individual level data," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(9-10), pages 760-772.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:96:y:2012:i:9:p:760-772
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2012.06.002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Karolos Arapakis & Eric French & John Bailey Jones & Jeremy McCauley, 2022. "How Redistributive Are Public Health Care Schemes? Evidence from Medicare and Medicaid in Old Age," Working Papers wp441, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    2. Sam Peltzman, 2014. "Socialized medicine and mortality," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 179-205, September.

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    Keywords

    Medicare; Redistribution;

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