Two Choices For US Congress On Medicare

Regardless of whether a new US debate on Medicare takes place duringbudget talks or separately (as the Republicans want), it seems clear that Congress has only two choices in the matter - offering fewer new benefits or deepening unpopular cuts in the program.

According to Tricia Smith of the American Association of Retired Persons, there is no substantive difference, because it is all politics. Any separate debate on the specifics of Medicare will come only after Congress reaches an agreement on how the program's costs fit into an overall balanced budget, note representatives of senior citizens' groups.

In his balanced budget plan, President Clinton has proposed finding Medicare savings by paying hospitals and health care plans which care for seniors about $21 billion less than they now get. Senior citizens would also receive new preventative care benefits totaling $15 million, under the president's plan, so that the real savings would be only about $105 billion.