Medi-Scare: The Sequel

 The nation’s Medicare program may have been the single most-debated program during the recent Congressional talks about our national debt ceiling. Certainly, it was a key cause of stonewalling by legislators on both sides of the Congressional aisle, as neither party wants to be associated with anything which potentially hurts our Medicare beneficiaries. They are, after all, one of the nation’s largest voting blocks, and already radio and TV commercials are resounding about protecting the rights of senior citizens to continue their current Medicare program.

Many of the debt reduction proposals put forth by Congress, the White House and various independent, bipartisan groups include reducing the growth in Medicare spending over time. In the final debt-ceiling deal, Congress spared Medicare from immediate cuts. But they’ll be back for round two this fall, and nothing is certain.

Most important to watch will be the powerful new congressional “super committee” created as part of the debt agreement. These 12 delegates will be tasked with scouring the national budget for savings in the next several months. Since Medicare makes up nearly 23 percent of the federal budget, the committee’s final recommendations are almost certain to contain some modifications to the program.