Ideas to Reform the Medicare Drug Plan

Fresh Air | By Terry Gross

Published January 31, 2006 at 7:03 PM EST

Geriatrician Dr. Christine Cassel says physicians and their patients are still adapting to the federal plan to use Medicare to pay for prescription drugs.

In Medicare Matters: What Geriatric Medicine Can Teach American Health Care, Dr. Cassel analyzes today's Medicare system -- and makes an argument for reforming it.

Dr. Cassel is the president of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the former dean of the school of medicine at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Ore. In addition, she is the editor of the textbook Geriatric Medicine.

Terry Gross

Combine an intelligent interviewer with a roster of guests that, according to the Chicago Tribune, would be prized by any talk-show host, and you're bound to get an interesting conversation. Fresh Air interviews, though, are in a category by themselves, distinguished by the unique approach of host and executive producer Terry Gross. "A remarkable blend of empathy and warmth, genuine curiosity and sharp intelligence," says the San Francisco Chronicle.

See stories by Terry Gross

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