WASHINGTON —
The Concord Coalition warned today that with the budget plunging back into
deficit, Congress should not rush to enact a Medicare prescription drug benefit
in the absence of comprehensive programmatic reform. Doing so would greatly
increase the already unsustainable long-term cost of the program while avoiding
all of the hard choices needed to make the program affordable for future
taxpayers.
WASHINGTON —
The Concord Coalition warned today that with the budget plunging back into
deficit, Congress should not rush to enact a Medicare prescription drug benefit
in the absence of comprehensive programmatic reform. Doing so would greatly
increase the already unsustainable long-term cost of the program while avoiding
all of the hard choices needed to make the program affordable for future
taxpayers.
“Congress
needs to shake off its surplus hangover and figure out how to pay for the
entitlement promises that already exist before it creates new ones.
Unfortunately, in the bipartisan election year rush to enact a prescription drug
benefit, Medicare’s existing long-term cost challenge has vanished from the
national agenda,” said Robert L. Bixby, Executive Director of The Concord
Coalition.
From a fiscal
point of view this is a particularly bad time to move ahead with a stand-alone
drug benefit. The budget is in deficit, the 10-year projected non-Social
Security surpluses have evaporated, Medicare cost growth has accelerated, and
the Trustees have made a dramatic upward revision in their long-term cost
projections. Medicare spending is already scheduled to double as a share of the
economy by 2035 and triple by 2075. Meanwhile, the general revenue subsidy to
the program will rise from 22 to 70 percent of total costs.
The Concord
Coalition agrees that adding prescription drug coverage to Medicare is a worthy
goal. Drugs are an integral part of modern medicine and often the most cost
effective therapeutic alternative. Rising out-of-pocket-costs for drugs are a
growing burden for seniors. But policymakers must not lose sight of the fact
that just three programs for seniors — Social Security, Medicare and
Medicaid — are on track to consume at least two-thirds of the budget
within 30 years.
“Given the
grim outlook for future taxpayers, the prerequisite for a comprehensive drug
benefit should be a comprehensive reform of Medicare, including effective cost
control. None of the proposals now on the table tackle the hard choices of
long-term Medicare reform.” Bixby said.
