|
Opinion: Medicare Celebrates 39th
Birthday but Not a Happy One
By Tucker Sutherland, editor
July 30, 2004 – Medicare turned
39 today but the program has to be feeling a lot older as it struggles
to convince senior citizens to buy into the new discount drug card
program, and it hears the White House announce a record federal deficit
with $6 billion in unexpected Medicare-Medicaid expense, plus, a boost
in the estimate of Medicare cost over the next five years of $67
billion.
The expansions in the program
and the expected boom in senior citizens caused by the aging Baby
Boomers is creating alarm about the future costs. Medicare is seen by
many as the major reason the federal budget will stay in the red.
The Bush White House said today
that the deficit this year will reach a record $445 billion, easily
passing last year’s record $375 billion.
Bush administration officials
said the Medicare increase this year is due to expansion of the program
and changes in “long-range technical estimates.”
Medicare became the government's
health insurance program for the elderly and disabled on July 30, 1965.
Today it costs taxpayers about $300 billion a year and there are
concerns about its future solvency.
Past birthdays
have been reason for celebrating Medicare, with events like receptions
in the White House. This year the birthday is not a happy one and is
drawing little attention.
Mark McClellan,
Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, did
issue a statement doing his best to put a good face on the anniversary.
“On
July 30, 1965, Medicare was signed into law, giving America’s seniors
protection from rising health care costs and access to the best medical
care in the world. But in recent years, those benefits fell behind
modern medicine, especially when it comes to prescription drugs,
preventive care, and more affordable health plan options,” he said.
“But Medicare’s 39th anniversary
is different,” McClellan said. “Today, for the first time, we can honor
Medicare’s anniversary by bringing overdue improvements, including
prescription drug savings, to America’s seniors and people with a
disability.”
He said over four million
beneficiaries are already taking advantage of the Medicare improvements
by signing up for a Medicare-approved drug discount card. He failed to
mention, however, that less than one million of these did so
voluntarily. Most were signed up automatically through state welfare
programs.
Speaker of the U.S. House of
Representatives, J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), also issued a statement.
"For the first time in
Medicare's 39-year history, seniors can finally celebrate that they're
no longer forced to pay full retail for their prescription medications.
Right now, seniors have the opportunity to sign up for a
Medicare-approved Prescription Drug Discount Card that in some cases can
deliver savings up to 20- percent off brand-name drugs, 40-percent off
generics, and as much as 60-percent off mail-order medicines. These are
real savings for folks who need it the most - those living on a fixed
income. And seniors receiving less than $1,100 in their monthly Social
Security check could be eligible for an additional $1,200 cash credit
over the next year and a half to help them further defray the costs of
their life-saving drugs,” he said.
"There's no question if we were
to design a senior citizen health care system from scratch today it
would include a prescription benefit,” continued the statement. “That's
why I am particularly disappointed to hear some Democrat Leaders this
past week in Boston calling for repeal of the current law. Let me be
clear: Repealing the new Medicare Law amounts to nothing more than a
callous now-you-see- the-discounts, now-you-don't political strategy
that robs seniors of significant savings on their life-saving medicines
and takes away cash benefits from the poorest of the poor. America's
Greatest Generation deserves our respect, not broken promises from
Washington politicians in an election year.”
So, the political battle goes on
over Medicare. Here is the history of Medicare as published on the CMS
Website, with minor additions to complete the story.
“The first U.S. President to
propose a prepaid health insurance plan was Harry S. Truman. On November
19, 1945, in a special message to Congress, President Truman outlined a
comprehensive, prepaid medical insurance plan for all people through the
Social Security system. The plan included doctors and hospitals, and
nursing, laboratory, and dental services; it was dubbed "National Health
Insurance." Furthermore, medical insurance benefits for needy people
were to be financed from Federal revenues.”
“Over the years, lawmakers
narrowed the field of health insurance recipients largely to social
security beneficiaries. A national survey found that only 56 percent of
those 65 years of age or older had health insurance. President John F.
Kennedy pressed legislators for health insurance for the aged.”
(Not mentioned in the
official history was the defeat of the bill by the Senate 52 to 48 votes
after strong opposition by the American Medical Association. This bill
was introduced by Senator Clinton Anderson of New Mexico and
Representative Cecil King of California - the King-Anderson bill for the
establishment of Medicare.)
“However, it wasn’t until 1965
that President Lyndon B. Johnson signed H.R. 6675 (The Social Security
Act of 1965; PL 89-97) to provide health insurance for the elderly and
the poor.”
“On July 30, 1965, President
Johnson signed the Medicare and Medicaid Bill (Title XVIII and Title XIX
of the Social Security Act) in Independence, Missouri in the presence of
former President Truman, who received the first Medicare card at the
ceremony; Lady Bird Johnson, Vice-President Hubert Humphrey, and Mrs.
Truman also were present. President Johnson remarked: ‘We marvel not
simply at the passage of this Bill but that it took so many years to
pass it.’ “
“Medicare extended health
coverage to almost all Americans aged 65 or older. About 19 million
beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare in the first year of the program.
Medicaid provided access to health care services for certain low-income
persons and expanded the existing Federal-State welfare structure that
assisted the poor.”
“The 1972 Social Security
Amendments expanded Medicare to provide coverage to two additional high
risk groups—disabled persons receiving cash benefits for 24 months under
the social security program and persons suffering from end-stage renal
disease.”
We wish Medicare
happier birthdays in the future.
|
