HHS SECRETARY LEAVITT WARNS
OF FUTURE MEDICARE CUTS
The President is planning to propose legislation to
revamp not
only Medicare, but health care generally, in
response to a
statutory requirement that it submit a plan to
Congress to rein
in Medicare spending. The Medicare Modernization Act
(MMA)
established a "trigger" requiring that when the
Medicare trustees
project the program will be more than 45% funded by
general
government revenue, as opposed to Medicare's trust
fund,
for two years in a row, the President propose
legislation to
reduce Medicare spending. The trustees issued their
second
consecutive warning in April, and Health and Human
Services
Secretary Michael Leavitt told a House panel at a
Wednesday
hearing that the proposal required by the trigger
provision would
be submitted before February 21. Democrats at the
hearing
angrily accused the administration of trying to kill
off the
Medicare program, according to CQ HealthBeat. "You
suggest we
rely on the private sector, but conveniently fail to
point out
that system costs taxpayers far more than
traditional Medicare,"
said Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), Chair of the House Ways
and Means
Committee.
Go to our
"government links"
page, click on the appropriate links for your
Representative and Senators, and express your strong
opinion. They DO
tally their emails on a given subject, and act on
them. SeniorArk editor.
