Perspective               

Sharp Rise in Medicare Costs to Hit Consumers

Rising use of Medicare services will mean a 12.4 percent increase in the monthly Part B premium next year, according to a report by Medicare's actuary. The Part B premium is predicted to rise from $58.70 a month to $66, the largest increase in over a decade. The premium for Part B, which helps pay for doctors' and other medical services, applies to everyone with Medicare, including people in Medicare HMOs who often must also pay a monthly HMO premium.

Despite this large increase in the Part B premium, if Medicare were privatized, as President Bush and many members of Congress are proposing, and not administered by the federal government, health care costs for older and disabled adults would likely be even higher. Private health insurance premiums jumped 15.4 percent between 2002 and 2003-the second consecutive year of a double-digit increase. Medicare, by comparison, is a model of efficiency. Private insurers, and politicians who push for privatization of health care coverage for older and disabled Americans, have yet to address the projected dire financial consequences for people with Medicare.

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