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Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Medicare Trustees Report Underscores Need for Health Reform to Control Costs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stark (D-CA) issued the following statement in response to the 2009 report of the Board of Trustees of the Medicare Trust Fund, released today:
“The news from the Medicare Trustees earlier today underscores the urgent need for health reform. While opponents will use this as another excuse to arbitrarily slash and burn Medicare, our energies are better focused on how to reform our health system and rein in rising health costs, which will benefit Medicare beneficiaries, all American taxpayers and Uncle Sam.
"Today's news is sobering, but we have seen worse reports in years past and the Congress has always stepped in to strengthen the program’s financial footing, and we will do so again. We should also remember that the social insurance programs are held to a standard not applied anywhere else. No one looks at the 75-year solvency of private insurance or the 75-year costs of our nation’s defense spending or the Bush tax cuts, yet we obsess about that number for Medicare. The most productive way to strengthen the long-term solvency of this program is to focus on comprehensive reform that will reduce costs."
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