[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 122 (Wednesday, July 26, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H7705-H7706]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       FACTS CONCERNING MEDICARE

  (Mr. EHLERS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, today, as for the past several months, 
Members will hear during these 1-minute speeches various screams of 
anguish about the Medicare system, particularly from the other side of 
the aisle.
  Today I come here as a scientist, because I am interested in the 
facts. I 

[[Page H7706]]
come here as someone who is just a few years from retirement, with a 
personal interest in having a Medicare system that will last.
  Let us look at the facts. The trustees of the Medicare system have 
said that the system will be bankrupt in 7 years if we do not do 
something about it: Fact 1.
  Fact No. 2: The costs of the Medicare system are rising roughly 2\1/
2\ times as fast as they are rising in private sector insurance. That 
is fact No. 2.
  Fact No. 3: is that the revenue coming into the Medicare system this 
year for the first time is going to fall behind the money being spent 
by the Medicare system. That is fact No. 3.
  The Republicans have no plans to cut Medicare. In fact, we want to 
preserve it. That is fact No. 4.
  What do we want to do? Frankly, from my perspective, we want to 
improve Medicare. We want to have it persist. We want to give people 
choices, HMO's and other things. We want competition, we want 
efficiency, and we want a better system. That is what we are going to 
work for.

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