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Wealthy
May Have to Pay More for Medicare
By
the Associated Press Lawmakers negotiating a Medicare prescription drug bill
report a growing consensus for higher-income seniors to pay more than
other Medicare beneficiaries for their health coverage. Sen. John Breaux, D-La., said there was a ``developing
consensus on means testing Part B'' of Medicare, the portion that provides
non-hospital coverage, including doctor care. The development marked an important step toward
agreement on an overall bill, and -- if enacted into law -- would also
signal a historic shift in a program that has always provided a standard
benefit at a fixed price. Lawmakers emerging from their daily closed-door
bargaining session Wednesday also said that they expect to sign off on the
broad outlines of an agreement Friday; the deadline imposed by Republican
leaders, but acknowledged that the legislation won't be finished for
weeks. ``We're nowhere near completion yet,'' said Rep. Billy
Tauzin, R-La., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The negotiators said there is still no agreement on
which seniors will play more for Medicare. Participants said there
appeared to be some differences over how far down the income scale seniors
should be asked to pay higher amounts for health care coverage. Congressional sources, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said some lawmakers advocate requiring seniors to begin paying
more when their income reaches $100,000, while others favored a lower
threshold in the range of $75,000 to $80,000. The developments occurred as the government announced
that current premiums now paid by 40 million Medicare enrollees for
physician services will jump 13.5 percent next year to $66.60 a month. President Bush, in a fund-raising speech in ``The sooner the Congress finishes the job, the sooner prescription Breaux stressed that any requirement for
some seniors to pay more than others must be viewed in the context of an
overall bill expected to give more generous drug subsidies to lower-income
seniors than to others on Medicare. ``You can't look at it in a vacuum,''
he said. Leading House and Senate Republicans, plus Democrats
Breaux and Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, are working on a compromise for
providing a prescription drug benefit for seniors as well as overhauling
the basic health care program. Republicans, in particular, want to inject competition
into Medicare by inviting private insurers to compete for seniors' health
care dollars, arguing that would modernize the 38-year-old government
program as well as hold down future government spending. The lack of details on so many issues prompted Sen.
Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., an opponent of means-testing, to temper his
remarks Wednesday. ``I want to wait to see the entire bill,'' Kennedy
said. This summer, Kennedy threatened to filibuster the
legislation in the Senate if it included requiring wealthier seniors to
pay more. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
