Budget bills and Medicare policy: the politics of the BBA

With the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997 and a balanced federal budget, the link may be broken between the budget and Medicare policy's timing and direction. However, despite a balanced budget, Medicare's eventual financial crisis must be addressed. The BBAs of 1995 and 1997 provide two models of Medicare legislation: one based on conflict and another on consensus. Because the 1997 act became law and the 1995 act did not, the consensus model has proved to be politically feasible. However, this model appears to be inadequate for devising a solution to Medicare's long-term financial problems.