Sec. 604. Policy statement on Medicare

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A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

The House finds the following: More than 50 million Americans depend on Medicare for their health security. The Medicare Trustees Report has repeatedly recommended that Medicare’s long-term financial challenges be addressed soon. Each year without reform, the financial condition of Medicare becomes more precarious and the threat to those in or near retirement becomes more pronounced. According to the Congressional Budget Office— the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will be exhausted in 2026 and unable to pay scheduled benefits; and Medicare spending is growing faster than the economy and Medicare outlays are currently rising at a rate of 6 percent per year over the next ten years, and according to the Congressional Budget Office’s 2013 Long-Term Budget Outlook, spending on Medicare is projected to reach 5 percent of gross domestic product

(GDP)by 2040 and 9.4 percent of GDP by 2088. The President’s health care law created a new Federal agency called the Independent Payment Advisory Board

(IPAB)empowered with unilateral authority to cut Medicare spending. As a result of that law— IPAB will be tasked with keeping the Medicare per capita growth below a Medicare per capita target growth rate. Prior to 2018, the target growth rate is based on the five-year average of overall inflation and medical inflation. Beginning in 2018, the target growth rate will be the five-year average increase in the nominal GDP plus one percentage point, which the President has twice proposed to reduce to GDP plus one-half percentage point; the fifteen unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats of IPAB will make decisions that will reduce seniors access to care; the nonpartisan Office of the Medicare Chief Actuary estimates that the provider cuts already contained in the Affordable Care Act will force 15 percent of hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and home health agencies to become unprofitable in 2019; and additional cuts from the IPAB board will force even more health care providers to close their doors, and the Board should be repealed. Failing to address this problem will leave millions of American seniors without adequate health security and younger generations burdened with enormous debt to pay for spending levels that cannot be sustained. It is the policy of this resolution to protect those in or near retirement from any disruptions to their Medicare benefits and offer future beneficiaries the same health care options available to Members of Congress. This resolution assumes reform of the Medicare program such that: Current Medicare benefits are preserved for those in or near retirement. For future generations, when they reach eligibility, Medicare is reformed to provide a premium support payment and a selection of guaranteed health coverage options from which recipients can choose a plan that best suits their needs. Medicare will maintain traditional fee-for-service as an option. Medicare will provide additional assistance for lower-income beneficiaries and those with greater health risks. Medicare spending is put on a sustainable path and the Medicare program becomes solvent over the long-term.