| THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR FRIDAY, JULY 2, 1999 LETTER SPOTLIGHT A plan to protect, improve Medicare BY JULIA VAUGHN The Medicare program, which has improved the lives of millions of
elderly and disabled Americans, faces perilous times. Some politicians in Washington
propose to radically change The result would be a substantial increase in the proportion of the Medicare budget going to administration and private profit and a reduction in the funds available for health care. Most Medicare beneficiaries would be forced to pay for an increasing amount of their health care out-of-pocket, causing many to do without. Rather than devise a reform plan that will reward their pals (and campaign contributors) in the insurance industry, Congress should pass legislation that is equitable for beneficiaries and can ensure the solvency of Medicare for the future. A three-stage proposal to protect, improve and expand Medicare is necessary. First, Medicare must be protected fiscally by establishing a budget. By moving gradually toward a budgeted program, Medicare has had considerable success in reducing its rate of growth. Average annual growth dropped from 17 percent in the 1970s to 12 percent in the 1980s, to 10 percent in the years 1993-96, and to a mere 1.5 percent in 1998. Between 1998 and 2007, expenditures are projected to increase at an annual rate considerably below private health insurance expenditure growth. If budget restraints are placed on the program, it is estimated to cost between $49 and $65 billion less than the current system by 2010. Second, Medicare must be improved by adding prescription drug coverage and long-term care. The third stage should be to expand a universal Medicare program to the entire population. This would insure the 43 million Americans without health insurance and would place a budget over all health care expenditures, thereby helping to control costs. Expanding Medicare to the entire population would cushion the financial impact created by the retirement of the large baby boomer population. Ample revenues from progressive taxes, the federal budget surplus and transfers from other government programs are available to finance the improvement and expansion of Medicare. These revenues would take the place of out-of-pocket payments for health services currently made by the public, and could do so without major tax increases on the average American family. Created by Congress in 1965 to address growing numbers of senior citizens who lost their life savings after becoming ill, Medicare has been a tremendous success. In order to ensure its future, the public must demand that Congress pass reforms designed to protect, improve and expand Medicare, not plunder it for the profit of the insurance companies. Vaughn is health policy coordinator for Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana in Indianapolis.
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Medicare from a publicly administered program to a marketplace of
health plans partially subsidized by the government.