[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 73 (Thursday, May 4, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6159-S6160]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    MEDICARE'S IMPENDING BANKRUPTCY

  Mr. BENNETT. Madam President, last evening, as I sat in the chair, 
the distinguished minority leader came on the floor and made a 
statement about, among other things, Medicare. There were many of the 
things he said on that occasion with which I disagree and so I take 
this opportunity, while my memory is still fresh on the minority 
leader's comments, to register my disagreement.
  The reason I am doing it this quickly, and I hope this completely, is 
because I believe that the issue of Medicare's impending bankruptcy is 
so important that we should not allow statements that are incorrect to 
stay on the Record uncorrected. We should make sure this debate is as 
careful and as correct as it can possibly be. The stakes are much too 
high for this debate to take place in an atmosphere that some might 
consider demagogic.
  I will take several of the minority leader's statements now and 
respond to them specifically. The first one: He said--and I am quoting 
from this morning's Congressional Record, page 6128:

       Republicans have discovered that the Medicare Program faces 
     challenges in the years ahead. Democrats told them and the 
     Nation that 2 years ago when we shored up the Medicare 
     Program and cut the deficit, all without Republican votes.

  Madam President, I apologize for not having this particular chart 
made up in a chart big enough to show the world. Perhaps the television 
can pick it up for those that are watching. But I am sure those in the 
Chamber can at least see the direction of the curve, which is the 
hospital insurance trust fund balance, in billions, starting in 1994; 
it goes up slightly in 1995 and then begins a precipitous plunge to 
zero in the year 2002.
  The reason I hold this chart up is because the minority leader has 
said, ``Democrats told the Nation that 2 years ago.'' This chart, Madam 
President, became available on April 5, 1995, not necessarily 2 years 
ago.
  I sat in the Chamber in the other body when the President of the 
United States addressed the House of Representatives in September 1993, 
roughly 2 years ago, and gave a masterful discourse on health care. He 
did not mention anything relating to the facts contained in this chart.
  If, in fact, Democrats told Members this 2 years ago, the President 
of the United States neglected to mention it when he made his statement 
to the joint session of Congress.
  I will not claim to have participated in all portions of the health 
care debate last year. I do not think any Member can make that claim. I 
watched the health care debate very closely. I cannot recall a single 
instance where a single Democratic spokesman told Members in last 
year's debate that the Medicare trust fund was in any kind of trouble.
  The minority leader talked about the budget. I participated in the 
budget debate when the new administration came in. The adoption of the 
budget of which the minority leader is so proud, and I cannot recall--
and I would like to have him point out to me if I am wrong--a single 
instance during that budget debate where the Democrats told Members 
that this trust fund was headed for disaster, indeed, extinct, in the 
year 2002.
  I think the minority leader is incorrect when he says the Republicans 
are just discovering something that the world has known and that the 
Democrats openly told Members about 2 years ago.
  Second, he says:

       House Republicans are considering reductions in Medicare 
     growth on the order of $300 billion. Senate Republicans have 
     said they will need to reduce normal Medicare growth by $200 
     to $250 billion.

  Then he goes on to say this is normal growth; the Republicans are 
cutting this growth in a way that is irresponsible.
  What he does not tell Members is that during the health care debate 
last Congress, the President himself projected that we needed to reduce 
Medicare by $118 billion. I am not going to quibble with him--yes, the 
$200 billion figure that is talked about in the Senate now is obviously 
much higher than the $118 figure that the President talked about.
  The point is that the President, in last year's debate, and Democrats 
on this floor in last year's debate said, ``We must reduce Medicare,'' 
and the figure the President came up with was $118 billion.
  I do not think it is appropriate to say the Republicans have suddenly 
discovered the idea of reducing Medicare in the hundreds of billions of 
dollars, and is that not terrible, when the President himself was 
saying we have to reduce Medicare from the projected rates by in excess 
of $100 billion. That was OK, then. Now, Republicans are being bashed.
  The one I feel the most strongly about, Madam President, is this 
statement where the minority leader said:

       Medicare Program costs are increasing because all health 
     insurance costs are increasing. In fact, on a per capita 
     basis, Medicare and Medicaid costs are increasing at the same 
     rate as privately insured costs.

  On this one, Madam President, I did go to the chart makers and I have 
produced a chart. I will put it here and share it with the Members of 
the Senate and ask unanimous consent that the figures contained in this 
table be printed in the Record following my Statement.
  (See exhibit No. 1.)
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BENNETT. Here are medical expenditures. The dark figure--no 
metaphor intended--the dark figure is for public expenditures for 
health care; the light figure is for private expenditures.
  The expenditures are calculated in terms of percentage growth. That 
is, if we look at 1985, in that year, public expenditures for health 
care went up at a rate of 8.8 percent per year, while private 
expenditures went up 10.3 percent. We can see in these years there is a 
disparity.
  Some years public ones go up faster than private; other years private 
expenditures go up substantially faster than public expenditures. We 
can see that, in general terms, it is around 8 or 9 percent in public 
expenditures and slightly more than that in private expenditures.
  [[Page S6160]] Then in 1989, something happened. In 1989, the rate of 
increase for public expenditures went to its highest level--11.9 
percent; private levels going up at 10.3 percent. Then, in 1990, public 
expenditures went up 13.2 percent; for the second year in a row, public 
expenditures went up faster than private, a trend that has continued to 
this day unabated.
  In 1991, public expenditures are still up in the double digits--12.6 
percent, but market forces are beginning to assert themselves in the 
private marketplace, and the private expenditures only increased 5.6 
percent. It did not stay down that low the next year. They came up to 
6.9; but public expenditures stayed in double digits at 10.8 percent.
  Now they have been getting better. In 1993, public expenditures 8.5, 
but private is 7.2. In 1994, public expenditures come down to 7.8; but 
private drops to 5.3 percent.
  For the minority leader to say that the reason we cannot do something 
about the expanding growth of Medicare is because Medicare expenditures 
are going up at the same rate as private expenditures, is to ignore the 
facts of the case.
  Private expenditures are coming down in terms of the percentage 
growth at a faster rate than public expenditures are coming down. 
Indeed, Madam President, if we were to take the minority leader's 
statement at face value, where he says:

       Medicare Program costs are increasing because all health 
     care insurance costs are increasing on a per capita basis. 
     Medicare and Medicare costs are increasing at the same rate 
     as privately insured costs.

  If that statement were true, that would mean that Medicare and 
Medicaid costs would be increasing at 5.3 percent per year, which 
figure, Madam President, is within the band the Budget Committee is 
considering for increases for Medicare and Medicaid.
  I have sat in on the budget briefing and I have heard the budgeteers 
say, ``If only we could get the rate of increase down to 5 percent, we 
could solve all of our problems.'' The rate of increase is down to 5 
percent in private expenditures.
  The minority leader thinks the two are the same. Perhaps he has them 
confused and thinks that the private people have not done a good enough 
job and the private expenditures are up in this kind of level for 
public expenditures. In fact, they are not. They have, ever since 1989, 
come down at a faster rate than the public expenditures come down and 
they are leading the way.
  This is the point we need to keep in mind, then, Madam President, 
with respect to Medicare and the reforms that are necessary. We cannot 
demagog this issue. We must stick with the facts. Our goal is to make 
the system that takes care of our elderly as stable, as secure, and as 
certain for the future as the system that takes care of the rest of the 
population.
  If we can do it as responsible public servants at the same rate of 
increase that exists in the rest of the population, we can solve all of 
our budgetary problems and the disastrous circumstance indicated in 
this table will go away.
  Madam President, I have nothing but respect for our distinguished 
minority leader. I consider him a friend and one of the more reasonable 
and certainly most thoughtful Members of this body. I feel that the 
information that he shared with the Senate last night is inaccurate, 
and it becomes Members in this debate to make sure that the record is 
set straight as quickly as possible, because the stakes in this debate 
are so high.
  I thank the Chair. I yield the floor.
                             Exhibit No. 1.

       CBO estimates for total medical and health care spending in 
     the public and private sector from 1985 until 1994. The 
     figures include spending for administrative costs, 
     construction, and research and development as well as 
     personal health care costs associated with doctors and 
     hospitals. The figures shown represent a percentage increase 
     over the previous year's spending level.

                          MEDICAL EXPENDITURES                          
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Public    Private 
                       Year                         (percent)  (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1985..............................................        8.8       10.3
1986..............................................        8.9        6.1
1987..............................................        8.9        8.5
1988..............................................        9.0       12.6
1989..............................................       11.9       10.3
1990..............................................       13.2       10.6
1991..............................................       12.6        5.6
1992..............................................       10.8        6.9
1993..............................................        8.5        7.2
1994..............................................        7.8        5.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: CRS.                                                            

  Mr. GORTON. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Santorum.) Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The Senator from Utah is recognized.
  Mr. HATCH. I thank the Chair.
  (The remarks of Mr. Hatch and Mr. Pryor, pertaining to the 
introduction of S. 758 are located in today's Record under ``Statements 
on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I see no other Senator seeking recognition 
at this time. Therefore, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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