(Circulation. 2001;103:e9026.)
© 2001 American Heart Association, Inc.
Cardiovascular News
Families USA Says Proposed Bush Budget Could Bankrupt Medicare
Families USA, a Washington, DC–based consumer health group, released a report March 13, 2001 predicting that the Bush budget will bankrupt the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund by 2010 by diverting $526 billion from the fund over the next 10 years. The bankruptcy would occur 15 years sooner than projected under the budget plan, according to the consumer group. The fund would also lose $172.5 billion in interest payments during the same period.
Without the Bush budget changes, the Trust Fund’s surplus would be $592.7 billion in 2011. According to Families USA, the new budget would reverse the surplus to a $105.8 billion debt.
The same day that the report was released, the US Senate blocked an attempt to restrict Congress’ ability to use surplus Medicare revenues for a tax cut or general spending. According to the March 14, 2001 issue of the Wall Street Journal, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the surplus in the Medicare fund to be $392 billion through 2011. The White House has estimated the surplus as $526 billion. According to the Journal, Democrats said the vote demonstrated that the Republicans would raid Medicare to pay for the tax cut promised by President Bush during his campaign.
National Institutes of Health Researching Way to Combat Antibiotic Resistance
The National Institutes of Health, the US Food and Drug Administration, and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta are combining bench research with public and professional education to combat the growing problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics.
The National Health Institutes’ research examines