Rising Health Care Costs

RISING HEALTH CARE COSTS -- (House of Representatives - September 09, 2004)

(Mr. GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to address the rising health care costs facing our seniors.
This last week the administration announced that American seniors will face the largest premium increase in Medicare's history. Instead of roughly $67, now it is going to go up to $78 a month for their Medicare Part B premiums.

The difference amounts to a huge increase, far exceeding inflation or any potential cost-of-living adjustment that our seniors receive under Social Security. This adds to the Government Accounting Office just last week asking for part of the salary back from the person who withheld information from this Congress when we passed the Medicare reform bill last year.

We should not force our seniors to bear the brunt of the increased cost of Medicare. The administration's actions will force them to come up with an extra $132 a year just to cover the increased premium. For the average senior receiving Social Security, this represents 10 percent of their monthly budget. Unfortunately, if precedent is any indicator, seniors will continue to see double-digit Medicare premium increases under a second Bush administration.

It is downright shameful to saddle our seniors with the cost of the administration's failed health policies. America's seniors deserve better.