Maurice Hinchey: “I know that the gentleman is very concerned, as I am and I think many of the people in this House are, about the future…”

“I know that the gentleman is very concerned, as I am and I think many of the people in this House are, about the future of both Medicare and Medicaid. Last week we saw once again the trustees, the Medicare trustees, issue their annual report. It is a report, of course, that they issue every year. When they issued their report last year, the Medicare trustees reported that legislation that would reduce costs by only $89 billion over a 7-year period would be sufficient to maintain Medicare's financial security. So it is not an awfully difficult job to do. A relatively small amount of money over that 7-year period will ensure the future stability of Medicare for at least another decade beyond that. Most of this legislation, which would extend Medicare's viability another decade, required only the continuation of existing Medicare laws that were scheduled to expire.”