[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 162 (Thursday, October 19, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H10466-H10467]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    SPEAKER WILL DO HONORABLE THING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Waxman] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is obvious that the Speaker of the House, 
Mr. Gingrich, did not understand the bill that the Republicans reported 
out of the Committee on Commerce; but since he made the claim that the 
bill would protect those individuals, low-income individuals, to help 
them pay for their Medicare out-of-pocket costs, I would expect that he 
will support the amendment that was offered in our committee by the 
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Pallone].
  The Pallone amendment would have given an assurance, an absolute 
guarantee, that if you are below the poverty line, your out-of-pocket 
Medicare costs, the premium, the co-insurance costs, will be picked up. 
If we do not have that kind of protection, a lot of people will not be 
able to buy part B. They will not be covered under Medicare. Low-income 
elderly just will not be part of the Medicare program that assures 
their physicians' fees.
  Now, let me go through what their bill does. In their Medigrant bill, 
they repeal Medicaid completely. Their bill does not ensure people 
below the poverty line will have their Medicare premium paid.
  What they say to the States is, spend some portion of your block 
grant funds to pay Medicare premiums for poor people. But the amount 
they are supposed to spend for that purpose, and let us be clear. There 
is no way to enforce even that requirement, there is not enough to 
cover people up to the poverty level, let alone to the 120 percent of 
poverty we require the States to pay now.
  With the cuts in the growth of the funds for the Medigrant program, 
with the growth in the eligibles for Medicare, which is a growing 
elderly population in this Nation, with the big increases in premiums 
absolutely guaranteed by the passage of this Medicare bill, which will 
require more premiums, maybe even doubling of the premiums to be paid 
by the elderly, we will never be able to see the States cover the 
people who are below the poverty line.
  I would like to give some numbers. The Republican Medicaid block 
grant repeals the requirement that States pay cost-sharing for low-
income Medicare beneficiaries. However, the Republican proposal 
requires that States set aside 85 percent of what the States would have 
spent on premiums, not all cost-sharing, from 1992 to 1994. The premium 
for 1992 was $31.80; in 1993, $34.60; 1994, $41.10. Newt Gingrich 
himself estimates that the premium will be $88 in the year 2002.

  With that kind of an increase in the premium, with a growing increase 
in the number of the elderly, the States are setting aside only 85 
percent of the amount for the 1991-1992 levels. They are not going to 
be able to pay for the out-of-pocket costs for the elderly.
  Furthermore, once they repeal Medicaid, which is what they seek to do 
next week and replace it with a Medigrant, a block grant bill, the 
States will get money. They can use it as they see fit. There will be a 
set-aside of money for this purpose, but it will be grossly inadequate, 
and the States will have to use that money as they see fit.
  They could say to people, ``We will cover you if you are in line, but 
when we run out of money you will not get covered.'' They could say, 
``We will only cover 10 percent of the costs instead of 100 percent of 
those premium and out-of-pocket costs.'' They can refuse to pay people 
for their out-of-pocket costs entirely.

[[Page H 10467]]

  There is no guarantee, if you are an individual below the poverty 
line, disabled or under Medicare because of your age, that you will be 
protected. There is no guarantee to the individual, only some money to 
the States, to do the best job they can, and whatever they do will be 
acceptable.
  Now, the Speaker did incorrectly state what was in his bill. I 
believe that he genuinely did not understand his legislation. When he 
reads it, when he finds out what they did in the Committee on Commerce, 
well, I would not want to be the chairman of that committee since the 
Speaker now has decisionmaking power over who is chairman of the 
committee or not.
  But I suspect what he will do, which is the only honorable thing to 
do, is to support the Pallone amendment when it is offered to the 
legislation.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Riggs] is recognized for 5 minutes.

  [Mr. RIGGS addressed the House. His remarks will appear hereafter in 
the Extensions of Remarks.]

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