[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 121 (Tuesday, July 25, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1513]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      MEDICARE'S 30TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______


                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 25, 1995

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE. Mr. Speaker, the Medicare Program is a critical 
safety net for millions of seniors and disabled Americans. And as we 
celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Medicare Program this week, there 
is an important statistic to keep in mind: 99.1% of Americans over age 
65 have health insurance coverage.
  We must remember that it has not always been this way. The period 
that preceded the implementation of the Medicare Program is a tragic 
chapter in our Nation's history--elderly citizens unable to receive or 
pay for medical care--choosing between medicine and food--people 
fearing to reach what should be their golden years.
  During this week of reflection on the Medicare Program, let us not 
forget that it was the tireless advocacy of the Democratic Party that 
transferred the Medicare Program from theory to reality.
  The historical record is unmistakenly clear: if it had been up to the 
Republican Party, the Medicare Program would never have been enacted. 
For example, in 1965, the year Medicare was created, 93 percent of 
House Republicans voted to replace the proposed Medicare Program with a 
Republican substitute--which was a voluntary plan, with no guaranteed 
financing and no guaranteed benefits.
  Thirty years later, the Medicare Program is still facing Republican 
assaults. Now, they want to cut the program by $270 billion to pay for 
tax cuts for the wealthy. Unfortunately, my Republican colleagues are 
not in tune with the desires of the American people.
  Polling conducted in early June by NBC/Wall Street Journal show a 
public concerned with Republican priorities. When asked to identify 
their top goals for Congress, most voters chose protecting Medicare and 
making sure the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes as top issues.
  Instead, the GOP has chosen a variety of ways to pay for tax cuts for 
the wealthy by increasing medical costs for seniors. The Republican 
budget task force outlined several options for cutting Medicare. The 
following are a sample of these options:
  Increase premium for new beneficiaries who use Medicare fee-for-
service. Beginning in 1999, all new enrollees choosing Medicare fee-
for-service would pay a $20 increase to their part B premium.
  Increase Medicare deductible. The part B Medicare deductible for 
senior citizens is $100. Republicans want to increase it to $150 by 
1996.
  Start charging a co-payment for clinical laboratory and home health 
services. Senior citizens are covered by Medicare for these services, 
but Republicans propose to require senior citizens to pay a 20 percent 
co-payment for lab and home health services, by 1999.
  Increase part B premium $5 per month for 1996-99 and $7 per month 
beginning in 2000. In 1995, senior citizens pay $46.10 per month. By 
the year 2002, the Republicans will force seniors to pay an increase of 
up to $87.10 per month. This is equal to a $492 increase per year to 
senior citizens by the year 2002. In the year 1996, seniors will see 
their premium increase by $60.
  All of these cost increases to senior citizens do not even affect the 
part A funding that the Republicans claim will go insolvent. Instead, 
the Republicans are going to hit seniors, who are living on small fixed 
incomes, with all of these increases so that the wealthy can have their 
tax cuts.
  If the Republicans are legitimately concerned about the solvency of 
the Medicare Program, why are their budget proposals not addressing 
these questions?
  In calendar year 1994, hospital insurance [HI], or part A, covered 
about 32 million seniors and 4 million disabled enrollees at a cost of 
$104.5 billion. The payroll taxes of 141 million workers used to 
support these costs amounted to $95.3 billion.
  Obviously, these numbers do not match up. And as the number of 
beneficiaries increases, these numbers will continue to move further 
and further apart--which is exactly the reason why the Medicare 
trustees report showed that the hospital insurance program fails the 
test of short-range financial adequacy.
  Do these problems need to be addressed? Absolutely. Are the 
Republicans addressing such problems? Absolutely not. If anything, 
their budgetary proposals only worsen the situation and are nothing 
more than smoke and mirror gimmicks to justify tax breaks for the 
wealthy.
  My chief concern today is the moral bankruptcy of those who would do 
the bidding of the powerful while cutting Medicare and turning their 
backs on the interests of the weak. If we launch this assault on 
benefits to the elderly, where will it stop?


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