Social Security and Medicare: A Policy Primer

Social Security and Medicare are of compelling concern to virtually all Americans because they impact lives so enduringly and directly through the protection they afford and the costs they entail. It is, indeed, the extraordinary social welfare commitment these programs represent and their concomitant expense that provoke such determined support and such fiscal concern. Kingson and Berkowitz provide a thorough, balanced, and highly accessible explanation of Social Security and Medicare. They explain the dilemmas facing policymakers and describe, through historical development, how the programs evolved and their present status. The authors superbly convey the complexity of issues while also clearly presenting the factual information essential to the understanding and discussion. Such key considerations as the adequacy of protection, the financing problems, issues of fairness, the response to disability, and the health care needs of the elderly are particularly focused on--the authors' are sensitive to the social welfare nature of the programs. A truly essential book not only for the classroom but the offices and living rooms of writers, administrators, planners, policymakers, social service practitioners, and the general public.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Arthur S. Flemming Social Security and Medicare as Policy Problems--Recurrent Themes The Social Insurance Approach The History of Social Security and Medicare The Modern Social Security and Medicare Programs Does Social Security Protect Today's and Tomorrow's Old? Is Social Security Financially Stable? Is Social Security Fair? Disability as a Policy Problem Meeting and Financing the Health Care Needs of Older Americans Conclusion--An Invitation to Shape the Future Selected Bibliography Index

About the Author :
ERIC R. KINGSON is Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Social Work at Boston College. He earlier taught at the University of Maryland at Baltimore. He was an adviser to the 1983 National Commission on Social Security Reform. Kingson currently serves on the editorial board of The Gerontologist and as a member of the boards of the National Academy of Social Insurance and of the Central Boston Elder Services. He is the author or co-author of The Ties That Bind: The Interdependence of Generations and The Diversity of the Baby Boom Generation: Implications for Their Retirement Years. EDWARD D. BERKOWITZ is Professor of History and Public Policy and Chairman of the History Department at George Washington University. He has served as the Robert Wood Johnson Faculty Fellow in Health Care Finance at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in 1987 and as the Visiting Scholar at the National Academy of Social Insurance in 1988. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Policy History and the Journal of Disability Policy Studies. Berkowitz is author or co-author of America's Welfare State: From Roosevelt to Reagan (1991) and Creating the Welfare State: The Political Economy of Twentieth Century Reform (Praeger, 1988, 2nd ed., with Kim McQuaid). He is also editor of Social Security after Fifty (Greenwood Press, 1987).

Review :
"[This] is a book that the nation needs. The two authors have provided us with both a genuine 'policy primer' and a 'call to action.'"- from the Foreword by Arthur S. Flemming Secretary, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1958-1961 Chair, U.S. Civil Rights Commission, 1974-1982 "An excellent introduction for those who want to understand Social Security and who want to join the debate about the policy issues of the future. Also a good refresher for the expert."-Robert M. Ball Social Security Commissioner, 1962-1973 Chair of the Board, National Academy of Social Insurance "Kingson and Berkowitz masterfully achieve their goal of writing a social security book that avoids both the complex, technical approach that bewilders most nonspecialists and the popularized propaganda tract that scares or preaches. This is the first book one should read to get a basic understanding of key programs affecting Americans from birth to death."- James H. Schulz Professor of Economics and Kirstein Professor of Aging Policy Brandeis University "This book, which is aptly termed a 'policy primer' should be read by all persons who are concerned about our society. The authors make a valiant attempt to present all sides of the question, and not merely their personal views."- Robert J. Myers Chief Actuary, Social Security Administration, 1947-1970 Deputy Commissioner of Social Security, 1981-1982 "This is one of the most useful books in years for students, scholars, and policymakers who wish to understand social insurance programs and current policy issues that are being debated in Congress to face changing demographics and increasing deficits."- Martha N. Ozawa Bettie Bofinger Brown Professor of Public Policy Washington University .,."an exceptionally insightful and valuable addition to the literature on social security in the United States. It offers readers an unusually balanced, objective, and knowledgeable perspective on the underlying principles of social security within the context of social insurance. The book is highly recommended for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding as to why the social security system is the nation's most important instrument of social insurance and social protection against the income and health-related exigencies of an industrial society. It should be required reading for students in social policy classes at either undergraduate or graduate levels."-Social Work ?...an exceptionally insightful and valuable addition to the literature on social security in the United States. It offers readers an unusually balanced, objective, and knowledgeable perspective on the underlying principles of social security within the context of social insurance. The book is highly recommended for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding as to why the social security system is the nation's most important instrument of social insurance and social protection against the income and health-related exigencies of an industrial society. It should be required reading for students in social policy classes at either undergraduate or graduate levels.?-Social Work ?Kingson and Berkowitz are convincing not only because of their cogent logic and effective use of empirical data, but because of the compassion which permeates their writing. Their obvious commitment to protecting a highly vulnerable group of citizens persuasively supports the argument that social insurance is currently the best mechanism for meeting this goal.?-Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare ?The book is well written, and illustrations useful...Students will find the book extremely helpful.?-Governance ?This book is a useful addition to the knowledge base pertaining to the federally administered, complex social and health insurance systems that are designed to serve the needs of eligible and disabled persons. Written in a basically nontechnical style, the book serves as a good source of data and information for the technically oriented, as well.?-Social Security Bulletin "Kingson and Berkowitz are convincing not only because of their cogent logic and effective use of empirical data, but because of the compassion which permeates their writing. Their obvious commitment to protecting a highly vulnerable group of citizens persuasively supports the argument that social insurance is currently the best mechanism for meeting this goal."-Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare "The book is well written, and illustrations useful...Students will find the book extremely helpful."-Governance "This book is a useful addition to the knowledge base pertaining to the federally administered, complex social and health insurance systems that are designed to serve the needs of eligible and disabled persons. Written in a basically nontechnical style, the book serves as a good source of data and information for the technically oriented, as well."-Social Security Bulletin ..."an exceptionally insightful and valuable addition to the literature on social security in the United States. It offers readers an unusually balanced, objective, and knowledgeable perspective on the underlying principles of social security within the context of social insurance. The book is highly recommended for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding as to why the social security system is the nation's most important instrument of social insurance and social protection against the income and health-related exigencies of an industrial society. It should be required reading for students in social policy classes at either undergraduate or graduate levels."-Social Work