[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 37 (Friday, March 27, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E507]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      PROPOSAL TO EXPAND MEDICARE

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                           HON. DOUG BEREUTER

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 27, 1998

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member highly commends to his 
colleagues this March 19, 1998, Lincoln Journal Star editorial on 
President Clinton's proposal to expand Medicare.

             [From the Lincoln Journal Star, Mar. 19, 1998]

         Expanding Medicare Means Bigger Problems in Long Term

       President Clinton's proposal to expand Medicare has immense 
     sugar-coated appeal.
       It would allow those age 55 through 64 to obtain Medicare 
     coverage as long as they paid the full cost of the federal 
     health insurance program. There would be no cost to taxpayers 
     for providing this new option to a supposedly needy group.
       Congress, however, should reject the idea. This is no time 
     to broaden a program already facing fiscal collapse in a few 
     years when baby boomers start to retire.
       In pushing for his program Tuesday, Clinton released a 
     report showing that 4.6 million Americans are uninsured or 
     rely on expensive individual insurance policies.
       That represents 22 percent of Americans age 55 through 64. 
     Nebraska, North Dakota and Texas were listed as states with 
     the highest percentages of people with difficulty finding 
     health insurance, a factoid that is not surprising because 
     many self-employed farmers and ranchers have individual 
     policies.
       The biggest problem with the expansion of Medicare is that 
     it would increase the role of government in health care. 
     Government history here does not encourage optimism that good 
     things will result.
       In 1996, for example, the government overpaid health 
     providers by $23 billion. That represents 14 percent of all 
     the money spent in the program. It represents about $88 for 
     each of the 260 million people in the country.
       Obviously, the entrance of government into an entirely new 
     market segment will hurt private insurance providers. But 
     providing a government option also could have unintended 
     effects on the private sector. It might encourage employers, 
     for example, to drop insurance plans. Rather than offer post-
     retirement health insurance plans to early retirees, 
     companies could rely on Medicare to supply the coverage.
       Eventually, of course, as Sen. Chuck Hagel and Rep. Jon 
     Christensen have predicted, there would be efforts in 
     Congress to provide financial help for those in the new, 
     lower age bracket. Instead of covering the full cost of the 
     Medicare premiums, financial aid would be granted to those 
     supposedly unable to afford Medicare premiums. The likelihood 
     of that expansion happening is greatest in today's era of 
     possible budget surpluses.
       As it is, officials estimate that only about 10 percent of 
     those eligible will buy into the Medicare program, because 
     the premiums are expensive. People between 62 and 65 years 
     old could buy in for a base premium of about $300 per month. 
     Those between 55 and 62 would pay about $400 a month.
       Despite its surface appeal, expansion of Medicare to those 
     55 through 64 would be only the first chapter in a script 
     with an unhappy ending. Congress should refuse to start 
     something destined to turn out badly. Medicare already is 
     facing fiscal trouble. The expansion will only make its 
     future more bleak.

     

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