[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 153 (Thursday, September 28, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H9652]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     MEDICARE ALTERNATIVE HEARINGS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Scott] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, all Americans should be concerned about the 
proposed massive cuts in the Medicare Program--not simply because they 
may affect current and future benefits under the program, but they will 
affect health care cost for all of us.
  A large percentage of the $270 billion reduction comes from cuts in 
payments to health care providers. All employers should be especially 
concerned about such massive reductions, because ultimately they will 
have to pay for them.
  The problem is that the same number of people will get sick and 
require the same amount of care, regardless of how their care is paid 
for. Paying providers less for that care under the Medicare Program 
does nothing about costs other than to pass them on to Medicare 
beneficiaries and other paying patients. There is a big difference 
between controlling costs and simply not paying the bills.
  Last year, we learned from our efforts to reform the health care 
delivery system in this country that it is like a balloon--if you 
squeeze it in one place, it pops out in another. Likewise when health 
care providers give care to patients who cannot or do not pay the full 
cost, those providers shift the cost of that care to patients who pay 
the going rate by charging them more to make up for the uncompensated 
care. We will see those higher costs in our insurance premiums and in 
higher copays, deductibles, and prices for medical procedures.

  Higher health care costs will also mean more costly care as people 
avoid addressing minor problems to save money and those problems become 
emergencies or require acute care. Thus, we will all pay more and get 
less if the proposed Republican plan goes into effect.
  Of course, there is one group who is not worried about the cost-
shifting and the higher medical costs. That group is the upper 20 
percent of high income taxpayers who will receive 80 percent of the 
$250 billion dollar tax cut funded by the Republican plan to reduce 
Medicare.
  While we all agree that we need a long-term fix of the Medicare 
financing plan, we do not have to put those dependent upon Medicare in 
jeopardy to do so, especially if the reason is to pay for a tax cut to 
benefit mostly wealthy individuals. We have made adjustments in the 
program before to keep it viable; we can do that now for a lot less 
than $270 billion if we do not have to make room in the budget for a 
$250 billion tax cut.
  The real solution to the Medicare financing issue is to fix it in the 
context of universal health care. Neither Medicare nor any other part 
of the health delivery system can be permanently fixed on a stand-alone 
basis. That is why hearings are needed to hear from experts, not just 
politicians, on what is needed and how long it will take to fix the 
program in a fiscally sound manner that does not impose unnecessary 
hardships on beneficiaries.
  The current approach to fixing Medicare is a cure worse than the 
disease. Taking $270 billion from beneficiaries to justify a $250 
billion tax cut to mostly benefit wealthy individuals is certainly not 
the way to do it.

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