Medicare Reform Debate Heats Up as Republican Leaders Clash with President Clinton

Republican congressional leaders, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and House Speaker Newt Gingrich, have challenged President Clinton to discuss reforms in Medicare, citing a report by the Medicare Board of Trustees that concludes the program will be bankrupt within seven years. The White House has dismissed an earlier GOP call to jointly study Medicare reforms, and the debate has taken a partisan turn, with Democrats accusing Republicans of targeting the Medicare Trust Fund to finance tax cuts.

Key Takeaways:

• A report by the Medicare Board of Trustees, including four Clinton appointees, concludes that Medicare will be bankrupt within seven years, with no payments being made to pay for hospital care or other services from the trust fund.
• Republican leaders, Dole and Gingrich, accused President Clinton of playing politics with Medicare by forcing a showdown with Republican leaders, rather than seeking solutions.
• Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle and ranking Budget Committee member James Exon assailed Dole and Gingrich for their behavior, calling it a "farce and a charade."
• White House chief of staff Leon Panetta said the Clinton administration would not accept a GOP proposal for cutting $300 billion from Medicare over seven years.
• Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici postponed announcing his budget plan until May 8, citing the need for more time to make his case for proposed cuts in Medicare.
• House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt accused Republicans of targeting the Medicare Trust Fund to finance a proposed $750 billion in tax cuts over the next 10 years.

Statistics:

• 7 years: the projected time by which Medicare will be bankrupt, according to the Medicare Board of Trustees' report.
• $300 billion: the amount of cuts proposed by Republicans over seven years.
• $750 billion: the proposed tax cuts over the next 10 years, according to House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt.
• $189 billion: the proposed five-year cut to the Medicare system approved by the House last month.
• 1995: the year in which the Medicare Board of Trustees' annual report was issued, concluding that Medicare starts going broke next year.

Sources:

• "Bob Dole and Newt Gingrich Challenge Clinton on Medicare"
• "Medicare Report Warns of Bankruptcy in 7 Years"
• "Republican Leaders Clash with Clinton on Medicare Reform"
• "House Leaders Push for Budget Vote, Democrats Balk"
• Associated Press, April 2, 1995
• Reuters, April 3, 1995