The Bush Administration has announced that the premium patients pay for Medicare will be going up to $89 per month, an $11 per month increase over present levels.

Unless Congress steps in to make changes, Medicare payments to physicians will be reduced by 4.3 percent next year. Federal officials warn that any move to prevent the cuts in payments will result in a larger increase in premiums.

Doctors expressed worries that if the government did cut payments for Medicare, that fewer doctors would be willing to take patients who receive it. Most of those patients are disabled and elderly.

The proposed increase means that Medicare premiums will have risen 34 percent in the last two years under President Bush from $66.60 in 2004 to the proposed $89.20 in 2006.

Dr. J. James Rohack, chairman of the American Medical Association, told the New York Times that better care and new technology is part of the reason for increased health care costs. 'It's not surprising that the volume of physician services has gone up,' Dr. Rohack said. 'We're providing better care. For a patient with heart failure, I often prescribe a powerful medication known as carvedilol, or Coreg. But I may need to see the patient every three weeks for six months to set the proper dosage. I see the patients more often to keep them out of the hospital.'

Regardless of the reason, it seems inevitable in this day and age that Medicare premiums will continue to rise.