Jeff Miller: “The Medicare report is probably going to tell us essentially the same thing we have been hearing the past couple of…”

“The Medicare report is probably going to tell us essentially the same thing we have been hearing the past couple of years, that Medicare is going to be bankrupt in 4 more years. This report coming out from the administration includes people like the Secretary of HHS, Donna Shalala, the Secretary of Treasury, Robert Rubin, the Secretary of Labor, which we do not have one right now, and few other appointees. It is not in dispute what the facts are going to be in the report. The report is going to say that Medicare is going to be bankrupt sometime probably in 2002. That is only 4 years away. It may be a couple of months different from what it was last year, but the bottom line is Medicare part A is going to be totally out of money, because we started back in 1995 where the money flowing into the Medicare part A fund is less than the amount of money going out. Up until 1995, we had more money flowing in from the payroll tax, that is how we fund the Medicare part A program, we had more money going in than going out. It changed in 1995 and all the reserves will be totally exhausted by 2002. The gentleman is right. My congressional district in Florida is a beautiful area, southwest Florida, with lots of senior citizens. It has more senior citizens than any congressional district in the country. It is important for the people in my district because of the seniors in the district. It is important as a jobs issue.”