Wayne Allard: “the most important act of this Congress over the next 3 months will be the reform of Medicare. I would like to take a…”

“the most important act of this Congress over the next 3 months will be the reform of Medicare. I would like to take a few minutes this morning to talk about what is at stake for America's seniors. The Medicare Program is in trouble. In April, the trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds issued an alarming report. The report concluded that next year the trust fund that finances Medicare will begin spending more than it takes in and will be bankrupt in 7 years. This will put the health care of 36 million Americans in jeopardy. Remarkably, this report received almost no coverage by the media. Uncomfortable as it might be, the trustee's report cannot be ignored. The trustees include the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury, as well as the Social Security Commissioner and two other public trustees, one Republican and one Democrat. The reason for the crisis is clear. Medicare spending is growing at an alarming rate. This year alone, it will increase from $176 billion to $196 billion, a growth of 11 percent. This will be nearly three times the level of spending in 1986. It is obvious that any Federal program that triples its level of spending in a decade is headed for trouble. Doing nothing might be the easiest course politically, but in my view that is not an option. The crisis must be addressed now.”