$39B in cuts to aid for poor; Bush readies pen to sign bill reducing entitlements such as Medicaid, student loan help.(Main)

Byline: ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press {FACTBOX} CUTTING THE DEFICIT - Highlights of the $39 billion, five-year deficit reduction bill: Student loans: $11.9 billion in net savings, achieved chiefly by reducing lender subsidies and retaining a scheduled shift from variable interest rates to a 6.8 percent fixed rate on most loans. Medicare: Saves a net $6.4 billion from the health care program for the elderly. Saves $6.5 billion by increasing Medicare payments to insurers that cover sicker patients and lowering payments to those covering healthier patients. Medicaid: Saves $4.8 billion from the health care program for the poor and disabled by reducing payments for prescription drugs, tightening asset-transfer rules for nursing home eligibility, permitting states to reduce benefits and increasing co-payments paid by beneficiaries. Pensions: Raises $3.6 billion in new revenues for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., which insures defined-benefit …