Idaho Insurance

In an apparent paradox, the congress is to expand disease, the Federal Republic of health insurance for more than 31 million elderly and disabled, as legislators recognize acute concern about the need for deficit reduction in the federal budget.

In an apparent paradox, the congress is to expand disease, the Federal Republic of health insurance for more than 31 million elderly and disabled, as legislators recognize acute concern about the need for deficit reduction in the budget Federal.

On the one hand, supporters of the legislation say it will not increase the deficit, because the beneficiaries pay the full costs through increased premiums. On the other hand, say the skeptics, costs of Medicare and other programs are often high-rise after the first invoice.

Senator William V. Roth, Jr., Republican of Delaware, said:”I find it ironic that we have a new program without a solid financial base, most of the time, we tried to Confederation excessive deficit.”

Mr. Roth was one of 11 senators, against the overall bill on the protection of Medicare beneficiaries against the costs of catastrophic illnesses. Although the role was Tuesday night, 86 senators voted for the bill, including those standhafter as a conservative Republican Orrin Hatch of Utah G., Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, Alan K. Simpson and Wyoming. Parliament has passed its version of the legislation by a vote of 302 to 127 in July. Easy compromise seen

Representative Fortney H. (Pete) Stark, chairman of the board and means subcommittee on public health and Senator Lloyd Bentsen, chairman of the Finance Committee, said they believed that this would be easy for negotiators from the two houses to reach agreement on a compromise bill.

Some conservatives, said the legislation on the wrong signal to world financial markets, indicating that the USA was not serious in its efforts to control deficit spending.

But in an interview yesterday, Mr. Stark, a California Democrat, said the turmoil on Wall Street, would not derail the bill. If the Conservatives try, disorders of tactical advantage, he said he would be in the form of benefits in kind. ”We would rally the Gray Panthers,”he said, referring to an advocacy group for the elderly. Mit”ihre savings at risk because of recent events on Wall Street, they need this legislation, more than ever, to protect them against the vicissitudes of age.”

Under the Senate account, the elderly did not have to pay more than $ 1850 for the year 1988 for a hospital or medical care services, Medicare. The House bill would separate limit values for Out-of-Sac payments for hospital care, $ 544, and doctors “, $ 1043, while doctors could be fresher. At least 800000 elderly birth more $ 2000, in such health costs last year. Reasons for support

Great estimates of the Congressional Budget Office, it appears that the House bill would cost $ 33 billion over five years, while the Senate bill would cost $ 22 billion. The legislator said that these factors explain their willingness to support these expenditures:

* Medicare recipient would pay for all new benefits through higher premiums, there will be no increase in the deficit of legislation.

* The accounts have already been far in the legislative process, so that they can not be affected by the new climate of fiscal austerity on Capitol Hill.

* In the long term demographic trends as the aging of the population have their own political force, even transcends concerns about the grave situation of the U.S. economy.

In a curious way, conservatives and liberals agree that the catastrophic insurance program was only a modest beginning. Senator Steve Symms, Republican of Idaho, he said der”camel’s nose under the tent.”Said Senator Simpson:”With jumps and limits the advantages to develop.”

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, said he hoped that the programme wäre”erarbeitet be built auf”in the years to come. The Senate and the House and ask for invoices from larger studies to assist the advisory bodies to decide, such as funding more medical care and social services for the elderly, such as home care, home care and adult health crèche.