WASHINGTON (May 21) The 17 members of the national Medicare commission will meet June 1-2 in Washington, D.C., to hear details about the challenges facing Medicare and to explore key questions about the program's future, Sen. John Breaux (D-La.) and Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) said today.

The Commission will open its two-day meeting with a presentation by the Modeling Task Force about the challenges facing Medicare and the program's sensitivity to external forces. The task force is expected to present scenarios facing Medicare through the year 2030. The scenarios will be based on a variety of factors and projected growth rates in several areas, including population, demand for services, expenditures and revenues.

The remainder of the Commission meeting will feature five discussion sessions where key questions about Medicare benefits, costs, eligibility, management and financing will be discussed by Commission members. Chairmen Breaux and Thomas said the discussion sessions are designed to 1) help members explore the implications of any solution proposed by the Commission, 2) afford an opportunity for the members to understand each other's perspectives and 3) give the task forces more direction on further research.

Note: Members of the press with credentials should check with their media galleries to reserve seats.

Meeting Agenda

Monday, June 1, 1998 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Modeling Task Force Presentation, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. The Modeling Task Force has analyzed the challenges facing the Medicare program and the program's sensitivity to external forces. For Commission discussion, the task force will present various models, forecasting future expenditures and income as well as the impacts of changing key assumptions. Discussion Sessions, 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. The following three sessions will allow the full Commission the opportunity to discuss questions related to Medicare benefits, costs and eligibility. The discussion sessions are designed to help members explore the implications of any solution proposed by the Commission. The discussions also will allow Commission members to understand each other's perspectives and will help give the task forces more direction on further research. >Commission Discussion of Eligibility Issues 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. Commission Discussion of Benefit Issues 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Commission Discussion of Cost Issues 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.	<font size="-1", face="Arial","Helvetica">Modeling Task Force Members* J. Robert Kerrey James McDermott Deborah Steelman Laura D'Andrea Tyson Bruce Vladeck
Tuesday, June 2, 1998, 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. Discussion Sessions, 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. The following two sessions will allow the full Commission the opportunity to discuss questions related to Medicare management, administration and financing. The discussion sessions are designed to help members explore the implications of any solution proposed by the Commission. The discussions also will allow Commission members to understand each other's perspectives and will help give the task forces more direction on further research. 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Commission Discussion of Management and Administration Issues 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. Commission Discussion of Financing Issues Adjournment
Reform Task Force Meeting Tuesday, June 2, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. Room H-137, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. This will be the organizational meeting for the Reform Task Force which will look for innovative solutions to improve the current Medicare program. At this meeting, members will discuss how the task force will conduct its work, review work done by the National Academy of Social Insurance (Paul Ginsburg and Joseph Newhouse, both of NASI, will attend the task force meeting), prioritize issues raised during the full Commission meeting, and determine next steps and short-term analyses. This meeting is open to the public. The task force is scheduled to present its analyses in July at a meeting of the full Commission in Washington, D.C. (details to be announced).	<font size="-1", face="Arial","Helvetica"> Reform Task Force Members* Michael Bilirakis John Dingell Greg Ganske Illene Gordon John D. Rockefeller, IV *-Chairmen Breaux and Thomas are members of all task forces.