Does Obamacare Explain Medicare’s Spending Slowdown? - The New York Times

Alicia Parlapiano and Margot Sanger-Katz have long relished reading Congressional Budget Office deep cuts. Medicare may just be the budget buster that wasn’t. Somehow, after decades of nonstop growth, its spending per person has flattened over the past dozen years, saving taxpayers roughly $3.9 trillion since 2011, according to an Upshot analysis. But the reasons for the slowdown — and its duration — are not well understood. Our article on this mystery outlined a few leading theories. It also provoked more than 2,000 reader comments, many raising interesting questions and ideas of their own. “Funny how the massive savings coincidentally coincide with implementation of Obamacare with cost-cutting measures and large portions of the population finally accessing health care prior to enrollment in Medicare. Such a head scratcher.” — Stephen, Columbus, Ohio The Affordable Care Act, which passed in 2010, should get credit for a significant share of Medicare’s savings during this period — and

Alicia Parlapiano and Margot Sanger-Katz have long relished reading Congressional Budget Office deep cuts. Medicare may just be the budget buster that wasn’t. Somehow, after decades of nonstop growth, its spending per person has flattened over the past dozen years, saving taxpayers roughly $3.9 trillion since 2011, according to an Upshot analysis. But the reasons for the slowdown — and its duration — are not well understood. Our article on this mystery outlined a few leading theories. It also provoked more than 2,000 reader comments, many raising interesting questions and ideas of their own. “