I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1590
To require the Trustees of the medicare trust funds to report recommenda-
tions on resolving projected financial imbalance in medicare trust funds.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 9, 1995
Mr. ARCHER (for himself and Mr. THOMAS) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addi-
tion to the Committee on Commerce, for a period to be subsequently de-
termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To require the Trustees of the medicare trust funds to report
recommendations on resolving projected financial imbal-
ance in medicare trust funds.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. TRUSTEES’ CONCLUSIONS REGARDING FINAN-
CIAL STATUS OF MEDICARE TRUST FUNDS.
(a) HI TRUST FUND.—The 1995 annual report of
the Board of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance
Trust Fund, submitted on April 3, 1995, contains the fol-
lowing conclusions respecting the financial status of such
Trust Fund:
(1) Under the Trustees’ intermediate assump-
tions, the present financing schedule for the hospital
insurance program is sufficient to ensure the pay-
ment of benefits only over the next 7 years.
(2) Under present law, hospital insurance pro-
gram costs are expected to far exceed revenues over
the 75-year long-range period under any reasonable
set of assumptions.
(3) As a result, the hospital insurance program
is severely out of financial balance and the Trustees
believe that the Congress must take timely action to
establish long-term financial stability for the pro-
gram.
(b) SMI TRUST FUND.—The 1995 annual report of
the Board of Trustees of the Federal Supplementary Med-
ical Insurance Trust Fund, submitted on April 3, 1995,
contains the following conclusions respecting the financial
status of such Trust Fund:
(1) Although the supplementary medical insur-
ance program is currently actuarially sound, the
Trustees note with great concern the past and pro-
jected rapid growth in the cost of the program.
(2) In spite of the evidence of somewhat slower
growth rates in the recent past, overall, the past
growth rates have been rapid, and the future growth
rates are projected to increase above those of the re-
cent past.
(3) Growth rates have been so rapid that out-
lays of the program have increased 53 percent in ag-
gregate and 40 percent per enrollee in the last 5
years.
(4) For the same time period, the program
grew 19 percent faster than the economy despite re-
cent efforts to control the costs of the program.
SEC. 2. RECOMMENDATIONS ON RESOLVING PROJECTED
FINANCIAL IMBALANCE IN MEDICARE TRUST
FUNDS.
(a) REPORT.—Not later than June 30, 1995, the
Board of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance
Trust Fund and the Board of Trustees of the Federal
Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund shall sub-
mit to the Congress recommendations for specific program
legislation designed solely—
(1) to control medicare hospital insurance pro-
gram costs and to address the projected financial
imbalance in the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust
Fund in both the short-range and long-range; and
(2) to more effectively control medicare supple-
mentary medical insurance costs.
(b) USE
OF INTERMEDIATE ASSUMPTIONS.—The
Boards of Trustees shall use the intermediate assumptions
described in the 1995 annual reports of such Boards in
making recommendations under subsection (a).
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