THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 16, 1995 TAG: 9511150016
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
If the federal government is ever going to get its fiscal act together, Medicare will have to be reformed. President Clinton is making that nearly impossible by demagoguing the issue for political gain.
The Republicans' plan to reform the system isn't perfect, but the party deserves respect for having dared to address a nearly untouchable issue. Clinton has used it unscrupulously to frighten seniors.
Medicare recipients must now cover 31.5 percent of the cost of the program through monthly premiums of $46.10. By law, the amount seniors pay is scheduled to drop to 25 percent on Jan. 1.
In a time of deficits, caused in significant part by rising health-care costs, cutting premiums makes no sense. That has the effect of increasing the deficit. The Republicans propose keeping the rate at 31.5 percent, which would raise the monthly premium to $53.50.
Clinton was willing to shut down the government in part to prevent this provision from becoming law. But it's all a charade. In his own budget proposals Clinton admits Medicare premiums will have to rise over seven years to $82. Republicans would raise them slightly more, to $92. They would also apply an additional surcharge so wealthy taxpayers would pay more.
The steps would put approximately $90 billion more in the system and save it from immediate insolvency. Republicans want to go much further by holding the growth in spending down. That would save another $180 billion by 2002. Doctors and hospitals would be squeezed, and many consumers would find themselves shifting from fee-for-service arrangement to HMOs.
The additional Republican squeeze is excessive and is motivated as much by budget-balancing fervor and a desire to grant a tax cut as by concern about Medicare's future. But if Republicans go too far, the president is content with far too little reform. His plan offers a bare minimum. It would defer the crisis, but not escape it.
There's obviously room for a compromise that both sides can agree to and share credit for, one that both preserves the system and addresses the deficit. But if Clinton continues to use scare tactics that polarize, he risks creating so much ill-informed fear that Medicare will once again be too hot to handle.
That could mean trading long-term fiscal instability for short-term political gain. Seniors should be more worried about that prospect. Clinton should drop the extreme rhetoric before it's too late and get on with crafting a viable compromise. If he does, Republicans must meet him halfway. by CNB