The GOP-dominated House voted 231 to 201 yesterday to approve a historic overhaul of Medicare health care program for the elderly, increasing the premiums for most beneficiaries and encouraging them to choose from private health care providers in an attempt to save $270 billion over seven years.

Brushing aside Democratic charges that Republicans were bent on dismantling Great Society social welfare programs to pay for tax cuts and balance the budget, GOP leaders hailed their legislation as critical to preserving the 30-year-old Medicare program for the nation's 37 million retirees. "We want a solution that preserves and protects Medicare for seniors and that sets the stage for the baby ...