FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 1998

Breaux: Medicare Commission Hearing
Defines Scope of Problem

WASHINGTON (April 20) -- Sen. John Breaux (D-La.), chairman of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare, held the first of two hearings this week to define the problems currently facing the Medicare program. Today's lead witness was Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, who detailed the impact on the American economy when the 77 million baby boomers start retiring in the year 2010.

"Medicare is solvent for the next 12 years and will continue to provide quality health care for the 40 million Americans who rely on it today," Sen. Breaux said. "We want to hear from the experts on how to best ensure Medicare continues to provide health insurance for older Americans well into the next century."

The Commission was created by the Congress under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Its 17 bipartisan members represent the public and private sectors and some of the nation's top experts on Medicare, public policy, economics and health care. It is charged with making reform recommendations to the Congress and the President by March of next year.

The Commission agreed at its first meeting last month to form three task forces to frame the key issues the full Commission will examine this year. They are:

Modeling Task Force: will help define the Medicare problem and highlight some of the demographic realities of the health care needs of the elderly.

Reform Task Force: will look at solutions from within the current system, preserving the underlying framework of the Medicare Program.

Restructuring Task Force: will take a "blank sheet of paper" approach and suggest ways to structure Medicare if we were creating the program today.

The Commission will hear from two witness panels this afternoon and two more panels Tuesday morning.