Medicare Select Program Extending By House

In the USA, the House of Representatives early last month passed a bill extending the Medicare Select program which will now allow seniors in all 50 states to buy extra Medicare coverage at a discount by agreeing to use managed care. Since 1992, the policies have been sold in just 25 states. A similar bill has already been passed by the Senate (Marketletters passim) and President Clinton is expected to sign the measure.

Since then, White House officials have criticized House Speaker Newt Gingrich's claim that they were trying to scare the elderly with false claims about the Republican's proposals to save money on Medicare; the officials said the Republican plan would cost Medicare beneficiaries even more than they had originally estimated.

OMB Assessment The White House officials released an Office of Management and Budget analysis assessing a list of Republican options to trim projected Medicare spending by $270 billion over the next seven years.