A reality check on the future of Medicare

In a  somewhat contentious meeting at the White House on Wednesday, the President and Republican members of Congress agreed to disagree on the best way to reform Medicare.  The Republicans have accused the President of mischaracterizing their proposal as a “voucher system. ”  The President has counterred saying that the Republican plan would dramatically change the way care is delivered to the nation’s seniors and that “we don’t need to end Medicare as we know it.”   Is there a way to change the Medicare system in a way that will reduce costs without sacrificing care for elders?  Our guest, health care economist UWE REINHARDT of Princeton University joins us to talk about the Medicare system of providing health care to over 47 million Americans over the age of 65 with expenditures of  $535 billion.