[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 121 (Tuesday, July 25, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10652-S10653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      MEDICARE'S 30TH ANNIVERSARY

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Medicare program. In light of 
recent Republican attacks on the program, it is particularly important 
that we take the time to recognize the value of the Medicare program to 
so many of our Nation's senior citizens and their families.
  For decades, Democratic leaders have supported and reinforced the 
generally accepted proposition that health care is a fundamental human 
need and that, in a just society, there ought to be a way to provide 
for it. Since it was signed into law by President Johnson in July 1965 
the Medicare program has succeeded where many had thought it would 
fail. The world's largest health care program, Medicare currently 
provides quality health services for more than 37 million American 
senior and disabled citizens at an administrative cost of just two 
percent.
  In my State of Maryland alone, more than 604,000 seniors receive 
vital medical services through the Medicare program. Just yesterday, I 
visited a number of these individuals at the Parkville Senior Center in 
Baltimore County. Like a vast majority of seniors across the country, 
they too are concerned about the future of Medicare and how decisions 
now being made in Congress will effect the quality and availability of 
health care services for their generation. Quite frankly, Mr. 
President, I share their concerns.
  For these senior citizens and the more than 37 million elderly 
Americans nationwide, the Republican budget cuts will be devastating. 
The Republican Budget Resolution cuts Medicare by $270 billion over the 
next 7 years. I know it is asserted that the actual dollar amounts for 
Medicare will not drop, but rather will increase gradually over the 
next 7 years. However, if the proposed dollar increases are not 
proportional to increases in Medicare enrollees and increases in the 
costs of medical care, the end result is massive cost-shifting and cuts 
in services for beneficiaries.
  Mr. President, in my view, it is essential that we recognize that 
Medicare is not a system unto itself. The Medicare program is instead a 
large component of our Nation's health care system and it is illogical 
to assume that isolated cuts in Medicare will not adversely effect all 
Americans.
  The Health Care Finance Administration [HCFA] estimates that Medicare 
payments account for 45 percent of health care spending by our Nation's 
elderly. Under the Republican budget plan, out-of-pocket costs to 
seniors are expected to increase by an average of $900 per person year 
by the year 2002. Over a 7-year period, the typical beneficiary would 
pay an estimated $3,200 in additional out-of-pocket costs. While this 
might not sound like much to some, these numbers become more 
significant when you factor in statistics that indicate that 60 percent 
of program spending was incurred on behalf of those with incomes less 
than twice the poverty level, and 83 percent of program spending was on 
behalf of those with annual incomes of less than $25,000.
  Clearly, when we talk about Medicare recipients, we are not talking 
about our Nation's wealthiest citizens. Many seniors live on fixed 
incomes. In fact, a large number of Medicare recipients depend on 
Social Security benefits for much of their income. According to HCFA, 
about 60 percent of the elderly rely on Social Security benefits for 50 
percent or more of their income and 32 percent of the elderly rely on 
Social Security for 80 percent or more of their income. It is also 
estimated that as many as 2 million seniors can expect to see the value 
of their Social Security COLA's decline as increased Medicare costs 
consume 40 to 50 percent of Social Security COLA's by 2002. Requiring 
these individuals to pay more for their health care will directly 
undercut their standard of living. In my view, it is simply 
unacceptable to create a situation in which more and more seniors will 
see their resources stretched to the extent that they will have to 
choose between food and health care.
  Mr. President, what I find most troubling is that Congressional 
Republicans are seeking to enact draconian spending cuts, the burden of 
which will fall primarily on the shoulders of the most vulnerable of 
our society, in order to provide a significant tax cut for the very 
wealthy. The future health security of our Nation's seniors should not 
be jeopardized in order to create a pool of funds for a tax break which 
almost 

[[Page S 10653]]
solely benefits upper income individuals.
  As we commemorate the signing of this important measure into law, I 
think it is appropriate that we all take time to reflect upon the 
history of the Medicare program and the principles upon which it was 
founded. Before the Medicare program, many of our elderly could not 
afford health care or were forced to watch their life savings dissolve 
under the weight of ever-increasing health care costs.
  Mr. President, those involved in crafting the Medicare program 
recognized that providing health care to some of our Nation's most 
vulnerable individuals lays the foundation upon which to build a decent 
society. As Democrats we must continue to embrace this principle today, 
as we have for the past 30 years.


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