Bowen Urges Expansion of Medicare to Hike Coverage

Health and Human Services Secretary Otis Bowen today proposed a $1.77-billion expansion of Medicare to provide catastrophic illness coverage for the elderly at a cost to them of nearly $5 a month.

The cost would be paid in higher Medicare premiums. But the total, spread among the 30 million Medicare beneficiaries, amounts to $4.92 a month--a figure described by Bowen as “a very modest price to pay for increasing the elderly’s peace of mind.”

He said the increased coverage would provide unlimited hospital and medical coverage to Medicare recipients while capping their out-of-pocket expenses at a maximum of $2,000 a year.

Even that figure would present a hardship for low-income families, Bowen acknowledged.

The Medicare expansion is among a series of recommendations prepared for President Reagan on how to protect all Americans from the cost of catastrophic illness, both acute and chronic.

The Medicare recommendation in particular is expected to be highly controversial within the Republican Administration because it proposes a new government program to replace a sector of private industry.

Bowen acknowledged the controversy even before releasing the report at a news conference this morning, telling reporters: “This is my report. . . . It has not been endorsed by anyone but me. It will provoke much debate, and that is good.”