LETTERS: MEDICARE PREMIUMS

To the editor:

For the benefit of the individual who called in the Speak Out item which appeared in the Jan. 9 edition of the Southeast Missourian: In that comment you stated as follows:

"Did you notice that the premium for Medicare has been reduced from $46.10 per person per month to $42.50 per person per month? President Clinton said he would reduce the cost, and he has."

For your information, President Clinton had nothing to do with the reduction you received in your monthly Medicare premium. In the July 1995 Retiree News published by the United Transportation Union, there was an article on the front page concerning the matter, and we quote from the article:

"In 1990, when Congress acted to set premiums for 1991 through 1995, it calculated the amount based on Medicare recipients paying 25 percent of the monthly premium.

"Because the costs have risen more slowly than projected, Medicare beneficiaries this year are actually paying 31.5 percent of the Part B cost.

"This play is set up so the premium determined in January is based on the actual experience of the previous year and is calculated to maintain an even 25 percent co-payment for individuals over the long run.

"...The formula will translate to a $43.70 per-month premium next year, for a saving of $2.40 a month, unless Congress decided to alter the formula."

So the reduction you are enjoying this year was the result of action taken in 1990 before anyone knew President Clinton.

WATIS R. HARRELL

Chaffee