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Date: Thursday, March 5, 1998
WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET
Contact: HHS Press Office (202) 690-6343
PRESIDENT WELCOMES MEDICARE COMMISSION AND MAKES STRONG COMMITMENT TO PREPARE MEDICARE FOR THE RETIREMENT OF THE BABY BOOMERS
Today in the Cabinet Room, President Clinton met for the first
time with the newly appointed Medicare Commission. The President
stated his strong commitment to work with Chairman Breaux,
Representative Thomas, and the rest of the Commission to develop a
bipartisan consensus for future reforms to the Medicare program that
prepare it for the retirement of the baby boom population. He also
highlighted the great achievements of Medicare and the important
contributions that the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) made to strengthen
and improve the program. The President indicated that he is
confident the Commission can build on the successes of last year's
Medicare reforms and take the next steps to prepare the program for
the unprecedented demographic challenges it faces. He also reminded
the Commission that Medicare is more than just a program of policies
and numbers; it is a national commitment that serves almost 40
million of our most vulnerable Americans.
MEDICARE HAS BEEN ONE OF THIS CENTURY'S GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS -- IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF MILLIONS OF AMERICANS. In the last 30 years,
the Medicare program has provided high-quality health care to
millions of older Americans and people with disabilities. Since the
program was signed into law:
- The rate of insured elderly has increased from 56 percent to
99 percent. Today, about 15 million Americans could go uninsured
without Medicare's guarantee of coverage.
- Older Americans are living 20 percent longer. A 65-year-old today
can expect to live until the age of 82; whereas in 1960, a
65-year-old could expect to live, on average, until the age of 79.
This is partly attributable to Medicare's expansion of needed health
care coverage to older Americans.
- The poverty rate has dropped by over half. Medicare has
contributed to decreasing poverty among older Americans. Today,
about 11 percent of people ages 65 and older are poor, compared to
29 percent in 1966.
THE BIPARTISAN BALANCED BUDGET ACT INCLUDED UNPRECEDENTED MEDICARE REFORMS. One of the most important achievements of the Balanced Budget Act the President signed into law last summer was its unprecedented reform to the Medicare program. This bipartisan effort
strengthened the life of the Medicare Trust Fund for at least a
decade, included new health plan choices, and added coverage of
preventive benefits. It:
- Extended the life of the Medicare Trust Fund for at least a
decade. Through a series of payment and structural reforms, the BBA
extended the life of the Medicare Trust Fund for at least a decade.
This achievement built on the President's 1993 budget, which extended
the Trust Fund for three years.
- Contained important new preventive benefits. The BBA included
new preventive benefits including annual mammograms for all Medicare
beneficiaries over forty; regular pap smears and pelvic exams;
diabetes management benefits, and regular colorectal cancer
screening.
- Enacted important new structural reforms.
The BBA also
included new market-oriented reforms, such as adding new plan choices
including Provider Sponsored Organizations, Preferred Provider
Organizations, prospective payment system reforms, and a number of
prudent purchasing provisions that allow Medicare to buy services in
the same way private health plans do.
- Growth in line with private spending. Because of the important
BBA reforms, Medicare growth per beneficiary will actually be
slightly less than projected private insurance spending growth:
4 percent versus 5 percent between 1997 and 2002.
STRENGTHENING MEDICARE FOR THE RETIREMENT OF THE BABY BOOMERS. While the Balanced Budget Act strengthened Medicare in the short
term, the program will face new challenges as the baby boomers
retire. President Clinton highlighted some of these challenges and
made a strong commitment to work with the Commission to develop
consensus for long-term Medicare reforms. The challenges include:
- An unprecedented number of Americans will enter Medicare as the
baby boom generation retires. The number of elderly will increase by
45 percent in the next 20 years. By 2030, one in five Americans will
be elderly.
- The ratio of workers to Medicare beneficiaries will drop
significantly by 2030. The number of workers per Medicare beneficiaries will decline from 3.9 to 2.3 during this period, straining the financing of the
Medicare program, which is partly financed through a payroll tax.
The President reiterated his confidence that the Commission,
working with Congress and the Administration, will successfully meet
the new challenges facing the Medicare program. He pointed out that
the American people have always been able to reach consensus to
address this extremely important program, which provides needed
services to tens of millions of Americans.
MEMBERS OF THE MEDICARE COMMISSION
Stuart Altman
Rep. Michael Bilirakis (R-FL)
Senator John Breaux (D-LA)
Senator Bill Frist (R-TN)
Rep. John Dingell (D-MI)
Rep. Greg Ganske (R-IA)
Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX)
Eileen Gordon
Sam Howard
Senator Bob Kerrey (D-NE)
Rep. James McDermott (D-WA)
Senator John Rockefeller (D-WVA)
Debbie Steelman
Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA)
Dr. Laura Tyson
Bruce Vladeck
Anthony Watson