Last year, Congress and the Clinton administration directed Medicare to adopt changes in its programs aimed at saving money and modernizing the program. Although deadlines were imposed over the next two years, health policy experts say the agency has been dragging its feet and those deadlines won't be met.

• The changes were designed to open up a wider range of private health plans, but Medicare officials complain that they are tied up in fixing computers to cope with the year 2000 challenge.

• A draft report by the General Accounting Office says the Health Care Financing Administration -- which administers Medicare programs -- is "severely behind schedule" in fixing its computers and it is "highly unlikely" the systems will be "compliant in time to insure the delivery of uninterrupted benefits and services into the year 2000."

• Agency officials respond that they "got a late start" and have "postponed important projects, including activities required by the Balanced Budget Act" of 1997.

• One provision being delayed would reduce the amounts -- known as co-insurance -- that elderly people pay for hospital outpatient services, like diagnostic tests, cataract surgery and hernia operations.

Other delays will prolong the use of an interim payment system for home health care -- which is prompting many home health agencies to cut back services to the elderly.