HHS Secretary Leavitt says rising Medicare costs will cause generational divide

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt in an interview with the Washington Times said he is concerned that rising Medicare spending could "divide our nation along generational lines."

With increasing health costs and the tens of millions of baby boomers due to enroll in Medicare, Leavitt said the program "will price an emerging generation out of the capacity to do all the things we take for granted," like purchasing homes or raising families, and "the reason is they will be paying for our health care."

Leavitt said, "Right now, there are four earners for every Medicare beneficiary. I think it's in 2028 when there are only two."

Leavitt added, "The kind of division I worry about is when we begin to see one generation pitted against another or when you begin to see economic classes pitted against each other.

Those are the kinds of divisions that have classically divided and undermined nations." According to Leavitt, Medicare spending must be addressed by future leaders (Lambro, Washington Times, 4/25).