ADVISORY

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH

Health Subcommittee Chairman Stark Announces a Hearing on the 2007 Medicare Trustees Report

House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stark (D-CA) announced today that the Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing on the 2007 Medicare Trustees report.  The hearing will take place at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25, 2007, in Room 1100, Longworth House Office Building.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from the invited witness only.  However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

The Social Security Act requires the Board of Trustees for the Medicare program to report annually to the Congress on the current and projected financial condition of the Hospital Insurance (HI) and the Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) trust funds.  The Trustees, who are designated in statute, include the Secretary of the Treasury (who is the Managing Trustee), the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Commissioner of Social Security and the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  In addition, the statute requires that there be two public trustees, both of whom cannot be from the same political party, who are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for 4-year terms.  The CMS Office of the Actuary, led by Chief Actuary Richard Foster, is responsible for preparing the report.  The 2007 Annual Report is scheduled to be released on Monday, April 23.

Ensuring the sound management of Medicare is one of Congress’ most important responsibilities.  This annual report provides a valuable update on the program’s status and important information with respect to projections of future expenditures, enrollment and other trends.  

In addition, the 2003 Medicare legislation (P.L. 108‑173) created a new mechanism based on a designated threshold to cap Medicare’s funding.  Accordingly, when the Trustees project that at least 45 percent of Medicare’s funding will come from general revenues within seven years, a warning is issued.  The 2006 report contained the first official warning that the projection is in sight.  If the 2007 report contains the second consecutive warning, President Bush will be required in 2008 to send Congress legislation with Medicare payment reductions to keep general revenue spending below the threshold. This legislation is given expedited consideration in the Congress. 

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Stark stated, “Medicare is a vital program that serves 44 million beneficiaries and provides peace of mind for them and their family members.  While the program faces fiscal challenges due to changing demographics and special interest payments, there is no reason we can’t work on a bipartisan basis to protect and strengthen this important social compact with America’s families, just as Congress has done since Medicare’s creation in 1965.”

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The hearing will focus on the 2007 Medicare Trustees Report.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Please Note:  Any person(s) and/or organization(s) wishing to submit for the hearing record must follow the appropriate link on the hearing page of the Committee website and complete the informational forms.  From the Committee homepage, http://waysandmeans.house.gov, select “110th Congress” from the menu entitled, “Committee Hearings” (http://waysandmeans.house.gov/Hearings.asp?congress=18).  Select the hearing for which you would like to submit, and click on the link entitled, “Click here to provide a submission for the record.”  Once you have followed the online instructions, completing all informational forms and clicking “submit” on the final page, an email will be sent to the address which you supply confirming your interest in providing a submission for the record.  You MUST REPLY to the email and ATTACH your submission as a Word or WordPerfect document, in compliance with the formatting requirements listed below, by close of business Wednesday, May 9, 2007.  Finally, please note that due to the change in House mail policy, the U.S. Capitol Police will refuse sealed-package deliveries to all House Office Buildings.  For questions, or if you encounter technical problems, please call (202) 225-1721.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

The Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record. As always, submissions will be included in the record according to the discretion of the Committee. The Committee will not alter the content of your submission, but we reserve the right to format it according to our guidelines. Any submission provided to the Committee by a witness, any supplementary materials submitted for the printed record, and any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any submission or supplementary item not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1.   All submissions and supplementary materials must be provided in Word or WordPerfect format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages, including attachments.  Witnesses and submitters are advised that the Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2.  Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing.  Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased.  All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3.  All submissions must include a list of all clients, persons, and/or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.  A supplemental sheet must accompany each submission listing the name, company, address, and telephone and fax numbers of each witness.

Note:  All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.

***