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Date: Thursday, May 2, 1996 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: HCFA Press Office(202)690-6145
In recognition of the 30th anniversary of Medicare, a national health care policy symposium, "Medicare: Advancing Towards the 21st Century" will be held Monday, May 6, 1996, at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas. The site was chosen to honor President Johnson's leadership in the passage and implementation of the Medicare program.
The symposium, co-sponsored by the Health Care Financing Administration, the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, the LBJ Library, the Commonwealth Fund, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, will bring together leaders and experts in the fields of health care and health policy. Discussions will include the history of the Medicare program, how the program has shaped the U.S. health care system, how health care has evolved over the past 30 years, and the challenges that the Medicare program will face in the future.
"In its 30 years of service, Medicare has contributed to the health, well-being, and peace of mind not just of the elderly, but of all Americans," said HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala. "This anniversary is a good time to assess our accomplishments as well as the challenges ahead for Medicare."
Speakers will examine some of the critical issues facing Medicare today and in the future, past and future demographics of beneficiaries, and politics of health policy. In addition, there
will be panel discussions focusing on the changes in health care over the past 30 years and the role Medicare has played from the perspective of beneficiaries, providers, insurers and Congress.
Bruce C. Vladeck, administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration, said, "This conference provides an exciting opportunity to reflect on how, in 30 years, Medicare has changed the country's perspective on health care."
A Medicare chartbook prepared by the Health Care Financing Administration will be released at the conference. This chartbook includes current statistical information and survey data about the Medicare program. The Medicare program currently provides health care coverage to more than 38 million Americans. Over the past 30 years, Medicare coverage of health services has made a significant difference in the lives of elderly Americans. The life expectancy of people over the age of 65 has increased more than three years since 1950. In 1950, the average life expectancy for a 65-year-old was 79; today, it is 82. Improvements in Social Security and Medicare's coverage of health expenses have also been important factors in the decline of the elderly's poverty rate from 29 percent in 1966 to 12 percent today.
Despite Medicare's coverage of health expenses, the elderly still pay a significant share of their health expenses out-of-pocket: In 1994, about 18 percent of seniors after-tax income was spent on health care, compared to 5 percent for the under 65 population. Medicare beneficiaries are generally satisfied with the overall quality of the medical care they receive and find that Medicare coverage offers them peace of mind.
All sessions of the free symposium will be held in the LBJ Auditorium at 2315 Red River in Austin. The symposium will begin on Sunday evening, May 5th, with a reception in the LBJ Library and will continue on Monday, May 6th from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. For registration information, please contact the Office of Conferences and Training at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, Tel. 512/471-0820.