“Medicare Bill Has House Conservatives Grumbling,” according to the Washington Post on July 15. Rep. Paul Ryan, who serves on the key committee that drafted most of the House version of Medicare reform, is doing more than “grumbling.” He organized an initial letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert on June 24 with 42 signatures pledging that if key Medicare reform provisions are removed or weakened in a final bill, the signers could not support it. On July 10 Ryan organized another letter to President Bush that 76 House members signed, stating that any Medicare legislation including a drug benefit must contain comprehensive structural reforms. Please join us for a discussion of Rep. Ryan’s views on the key elements of Medicare reform that must be included in the final version of a conference report. Tom Miller will suggest further steps to strengthen reform measures and outline what’s most likely to unfold this fall.