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Morning News

Medicare Administrator Discusses 35th Anniversary of Federal Insurance Program

Aired July 12, 2000 - 9:21 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: This is the 35th anniversary of the beginning of Medicare. Since its implementation back in 1965, that federal insurance program helps provide coverage for millions of Americans at a cost of more than $320 billion per year. That's a big chunk of change. One of every seven Americans today is covered by Medicare. The big question is, what's ahead for Medicare in the next 35 years?

Well, to help with the answers on that, let's go now to Washington and meet Medicare administrator Nancy-Ann DeParle.

We thank you for talking to us this morning, and happy anniversary.

NANCY-ANN DEPARLE, MEDICARE ADMINISTRATOR: Thank you very much.

HARRIS: Now, how would you grade where Medicare is today on this anniversary?

DEPARLE: Well, I'm happy to say that Medicare is as strong as its ever been on its 35th anniversary. You know, the Medicare trustees just reported this spring that Medicare's trust fund, the fund of money that provides the funding for Medicare, will be solvent through 2025, and that's well into when the baby boomers like me will start to retire and need it. So it's really a strong, healthy program, and we believe we've helped many of America's seniors be healthier as well.

HARRIS: And we've been watching in the news lots of talk about how prescription drug prices are a big problem and how it's going to be an issue in this campaign, and probably one or two more campaigns to come. Are issues like that going to really cause a change in the prognosis for Medicare?

DEPARLE: No, I don't think they're going to change the prognosis, but we do have to keep modernizing the program. You know, when Medicare started out in 1965, many seniors didn't have access to hospitals, so the challenge then was to give seniors access to the modern miracles of America's hospitals. Now the challenge is to provide them with access to the miracles of modern medicine in the form of prescription drugs. And I think that would be a terrific anniversary present if we were able to work together to provide a prescription drug benefit. HARRIS: Let me ask you about that. Is there anything else you would add, say, for instance, if you were to be designing or building or launching a Medicare today? Is that the only different thing you would have added, the prescription drug benefit?

DEPARLE: Well, no, if I could wave the magic wand, want I'd want to do is try to add some more preventive benefits as well. And in fact, the president has proposed to do that. And also, perhaps, to eliminate the co-pays, the co-insurance that seniors have to pay for some of those preventive benefits. We've done that in some areas. We worked with the Congress a couple of years ago to add some new screening benefits like screening for colo-rectal cancer screening -- colo-rectal cancer, for prostate cancer and for other things.

So those things are real important now. We didn't know about those, really, in 1965. But today, a modern, healthy insurance program would provide those to prevent illness.

HARRIS: Nancy-Ann DeParle, Medicare administrator, we thank you very much, and we hope you enjoy your anniversary.

DEPARLE: Thank you.

HARRIS: Take care.

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