Commission will prepare Medicare for baby boomers

Baby boomers have changed the social and economic landscape every year of their lives since 1946. To prepare for the millions of boomers who will begin filling the Medicare rolls in the next century, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 calls for the creation of a 17-member "National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare."

The commission will analyze the long-term financial condition of Medicare, including such looming issues as the upcoming retirement of the baby boom generation.

The General Accounting Office will appoint members by Dec. 1. The commission must report on its recommendations to the president and Congress by March 1, 1999.