The US public debt hits its tipping point [Boston Globe]

Bob Pozen — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:28:49 +0000

CONGRESS RAISED the federal debt limit this month by $1.9 trillion to a record level of $14.3 trillion. Given the projected budget deficit for the next year, the gross public debt of the US government will probably hit that $14.3 trillion limit by the end of 2010. This huge expansion of public debt is not just an abstract concern of economists; it is likely to hurt the practical situation of most American families and firms.

How Rehospitalizations Are Hurting Medicare [The Boston Globe]

Bob Pozen — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:03:02 +0000

Getting Medicare costs under control is no easy job. Congress recently overrode a scheduled 11 percent cut in Medicare’s physician fees by freezing them for the rest of 2008 with a slight raise in 2009. But the program’s finances will continue to worsen as baby boomers retire. Avoiding deep cuts in physician fees from 2010 onward will require a $20 billion fix every year for the following decade. But there is a straightforward way to pay for half of this fix.

Bob Pozen » BostonGlobe

The US public debt hits its tipping point [Boston Globe]

How Rehospitalizations Are Hurting Medicare [The Boston Globe]