The following is the statement of Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA, about this year's Medicare Trustees' report that found that the Medicare Trust Fund will be insolvent in 2020:
"The Trustees' insolvency projections should serve as a wake-up call concerning congressional leader's irresponsible handling of the Medicare program.
"These projections did not, and could not, take into account last week's Senate Budget Resolution, which would withdraw $64 billion from the Medicare Trust Fund and make those funds available for tax cuts for the rich - an action that could shave four years from the life of the Trust Fund.
"When Congress passed the new Medicare law, it acted even more irresponsibly. The new prescription drug benefit, which will go into effect next January, will have no meaningful cost-containment measures to moderate skyrocketing drug prices.
"Congress should have allowed Medicare to negotiate directly with the drug companies for cheaper prices. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) does this very successfully for America's veterans, resulting in much lower prices.
"These failures will not only harm taxpayers and the viability of the Medicare Trust Fund, they will also cause huge hardships for seniors across the country. In 2006, for example, more than one-third (37.2%) of an average 65-year-old's Social Security check will be consumed by Medicare premiums, deductibles, and co payments. For an 85-year-old, that number climbs to a whopping 42.7 percent.
"This squeeze on seniors' pocketbooks is the direct result of congressional failures, which should be corrected as soon as possible."
