[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 121 (Tuesday, July 25, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H7553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HARDSHIPS FOR MEDICARE RECIPIENTS

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, this week we celebrate the 30th 
anniversary of the enactment of Medicare, the only program that 
provides universal health coverage to virtually every elder American. 
Unfortunately, today Medicare is in big trouble. Much of the trouble 
stems from the majority plan to cut coverage and raise fees, not to 
shore up Medicare, but simply to provide tax cuts for large 
corporations and wealthy individuals.
  The $270 billion in Medicare cuts proposed by the majority means that 
the average Medicare beneficiary will be liable for an additional 
$3,400 in out-of-pocket health care expenses. Total out-of-pocket costs 
would add up to about $29,000 over the 7 years of the budget plan.
  I do not know how many seniors back in my hometown of Rochester can 
afford that level of cost increase. I do know that it will be a 
hardship for those on a fixed income. This morning I want to bring 
particular attention to the hardship that the cuts will bring to older 
women who make up the majority of Medicare recipients. They are the 
ones who can least afford to bear the brunt of Medicare cost hikes to 
subsidize tax cuts for the rich.
  Elderly poverty is already more prevalent among older women. Only 13 
percent of women age 65 or older actually receive a private pension, 
and even with Social Security, one-quarter of all older women are 
living near or below the poverty level.
  The typical older woman, age 75 or older, has an annual income of 
$9,170. Where will she find an additional $3,400 over the next 7 years 
to cover higher Medicare premiums, deductibles, and new copayments?
  At any age over 65, women have greater functional limitations due to 
diseases like arthritis and osteoporosis. That means they have an even 
greater need for affordable Medicare services like home health care.
  Older American women, the majority of all Medicare recipients, have 
worked hard all their lives, whether in the home taking care of 
children, aging parents, or ailing spouses, or at jobs that paid them 
less than men at the same level to help support their families. They do 
not deserve to be abandoned by Congress in their time of need and they 
do not deserve to have to do more with less and less simply to 
subsidize tax cuts.


                          ____________________