Issue Position: Health and Medicare - Medicare

Issue Position

With a rapidly aging population, it is necessary to look toward the future of health care, and specifically the future solvency of the Medicare program. I remain committed to preserving and strengthening the current Medicare program for our nation's seniors. Reforms must ensure high quality care, increased access to physicians, and a shift toward preventative health options and an increase in quality of life for America's senior population.

Medical treatments are getting better, but they are also getting very expensive. The "Baby Boomer" generation consists of Americans born between 1946 and 1964, and the Baby Boomers make up nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population. The first Boomers turned 60 in 2006, and beginning in 2007, the number of people 65 years or older has grown at an increasing rate compared to a declining rate in the previous decade.

According to the 2007 annual trustee report, the Medicare program's annual costs were 3.1 percent of GDP in 2006, and are expected to exceed 11 percent in 2081. While medical treatments are getting more advanced, they are also getting much more expensive. The cost of Medicare to the U.S. taxpayer is reaching unsustainable levels. The focus of reform must move to improve the quality of life for our current senior population and to maintaining financial solvency, if we hope to continue the success of this benefit.

I believe that the Medicare Advantage (MA) program has been a positive step in creating a strong safety-net for seniors, and has provided additional health coverage options for Medicare beneficiaries. Established by the Medicare Modernization Act in 2003 (P.L. 108-173), this program enables beneficiaries to purchase managed care coverage through private insurance plans, as an alternative to the traditional Medicare fee-for-service coverage. Nearly 20 percent of our nation's Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, and according to recent bipartisan polls, 90 percent of MA beneficiaries are satisfied with their choice in the plans.

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