Elderly Pay More for Medicare Aid After Every Change, Report Says

Elderly Americans paid more for federal health programs each time Congress tinkered with the Medicare law, although lawmakers did slow the growth of medical costs, a report released Tuesday says.

The General Accounting Office said that between 1980 and 1986, Medicare recipients paid 49% more for inpatient services and 31% more for physician services than forecast. The increases cost the elderly $6.1 billion more than under the laws in effect in 1980, the report said.

But the study said actual inflation-adjusted Medicare costs would have been about $13 billion more between 1981 through 1985 if Congress had not taken action to slow down their growth.

Medicare is the federal program that assists persons older than 65 and some disabled people in paying for health care. Under the hospital section of the plan, about 30.6 million people received $46 billion in benefits, while 30 million people received $21.9 billion in benefits under the physician services section.

The average out-of-pocket costs per person for inpatient hospital services increased from $84 in 1980 to $125 in 1985. For physician services, the average out-of-pocket costs rose from $395 in 1980 to $516 in 1985.

Chairman Edward R. Roybal (D-Los Angeles) of the House Select Committee on Aging, who requested the GAO study, warned that its results should serve as a warning against further attempts to cut Medicare. He said the House-passed budget bill for fiscal 1988 protects the poor, dis1633840229 “Medicare has been cut significantly in the past several budget cycles, and any further erosion could well impair the quality of care delivered to America’s senior and disabled citizens,”542273401