‘87 Cost to Medicare Recipients Put at $700
The 28 million elderly Americans receiving Medicare benefits will have to pay an average of $700 from their own pockets next year for medical care, the Congressional Budget Office estimated Wednesday.
Most beneficiaries have private insurance to help pay for Medicare’s deductible and co-insurance charges. But 20% of the elderly, those not eligible for more complete coverage under the separate Medicaid program for impoverished Americans, must pay these expenses themselves, Nancy M. Gordon, a budget office economist, told the House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee.
In 1984, 5.5 million people “had no protection other than Medicare,” she testified.
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
