Medicare now covers more than 67 million people. Enrollment is expected to keep rising as the population ages, increasing both the program's reach and the stakes of the policy choices around it. At the same time, Medicare faces persistent financing pressures; rapid changes in care delivery; and growing debate over how best to pay for care, encourage innovation, and protect beneficiaries.
These are the kinds of problems that Amol Navathe, MD, PhD, will tackle as the new chair of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, or MedPAC, the independent congressional agency that advises lawmakers on Medicare payment policy, access to care, quality, and other issues affecting the program. Navathe, a professor of Health Policy and Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine and a senior fellow at Penn's Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, takes on the role at a pivotal moment for Medicare, charged with helping figure out how to sustain the program financially while preserving access and quality for millions of older adults and people with disabilities.
Navathe, a practicing internal medicine physician and nationally recognized health policy researcher, has long focused on improving care delivery and outcomes while making health care more affordable. He previously served as a MedPAC commissioner and vice chair, bringing experience as a clinician, researcher, and policy leader to the role. Here, he shares what the appointment means, why MedPAC's evidence-based work matters, and the challenges and opportunities ahead for Medicare.
