[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 206 (Thursday, December 21, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H15488]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          THE BUDGET DEBATE: DO NOT FORGET THE SENIOR CITIZENS

  (Mr. REED asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, we continue to resist a Republican budget with 
deep cuts in Medicare and Medicaid, a Republican budget which has 
already been repudiated by a broad cross-section of the American 
public.
  And, as we continue to debate the Federal budget, I would like to 
remind my Republican colleagues that they should not lose sight of the 
budgets of thousands of senior citizens in their districts.
  Today the elderly pay more out-of-pocket than ever before for 
Medicare coverage and supplemental insurance. In Rhode Island, they pay 
this with an average income of approximately $16,000.
  Yesterday the New York Times reported that MediGap premiums for over 
3 million seniors will increase an average of 30 percent next year. 
MediGap is the supplemental insurance which is necessary to cover 
nonhospital medical expenses. In Rhode Island, the average premium 
increase will be 35 percent.
  These higher premiums would come on top of the proposed increases to 
beneficiaries in the Republicans budget.
  The Republican budget will raise annual Medicare premiums by $264 for 
an elderly couple in 1996 and nearly double premiums by 2002.
  And on top of these significant increases, the Republicans also 
propose to eliminate the Medicaid entitlement which serves as a 
critical safety net for thousands of seniors in Rhode Island.
  I urge we repudiate these massive cuts in Medicare and Medicaid.

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