Bush to Propose Curbing Growth in Medicare Cost - New York Times

Bush to Propose Curbing Growth in Medicare Cost - New York Times:

Something has to be done to control the costs of Medicare and this as well as the other proposals to reduce them will cause many beneficiaries to snarl. I hope I'm wrong but I doubt Congress has the stomach to reduce the benefits or increase the premiums in an election year, if ever. The longer we wait, the larger the fee for the piper.

"Under the 2003 Medicare law, any beneficiary with more than $80,000 of annual income will have to pay higher premiums in 2007 and later years. For people with incomes of $100,000 to $150,000, premiums would more than double. Under the law, the income thresholds are increased each year to reflect inflation. Mr. Bush's proposal would eliminate these adjustments, so that more people would have to pay the higher premiums each year."