The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) has been touted as the most sweeping finance reform of the Medicare program to date, notwithstanding the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003.It has also proven to be among the most controversial of all such efforts and is considered by some to have been the most ill-advised.The BBA spawned a nation-wide health care industry backlash resulting in significant restorations of proposed reimbursement cuts.

1.What were the original premises for the enacted Medicare financing reforms of the BBA.

2.What are the significances of Congressional actions, e.g. the Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999, the Beneficiary Improvement and Protection Act of 2000, to restore cuts and changes?

3.What were some of the political commentaries on the health care industry lobbying efforts to thwart the impact of the BBA?

4.What were some of the lessons learned about the challenges of reforming a program of Medicare's magnitude?