[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 116 (Wednesday, August 17, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 17, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  HEALTH CARE REFORM: GOOD FOR SENIORS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington [Mr. Kreidler] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KREIDLER. Mr. Speaker, older Americans spend more today on health 
care, out of their own pockets, than they did before Medicare was 
enacted.
  That's an astonishing fact. It shows what the relentless growth in 
medical costs has done, over three decades, to seniors' pocketbooks.
  And it shows why senior citizens are so vitally concerned with the 
health care debate we will have on this floor. We must slow the 
inflation in health care costs for all Americans. And we must make sure 
every American has affordable coverage, guaranteed, with choice and 
quality. Senior citizens, who have worked all their lives, paid their 
taxes, and played by the rules, deserve no less than the rest of us.
  The Guaranteed Health Insurance Act, which our Democratic leader Dick 
Gephardt has proposed, helps fill some of the biggest gaps in Medicare 
for our senior citizens:
  It adds coverage for prescription drugs. This is one of the most 
devastating gaps in senior citizens' coverage today. Doctors can't 
treat patients effectively if they can't afford the drugs the doctor 
prescribes. And too many seniors on fixed incomes must choose between 
daily medicine or daily means.
  It covers annual screening mammography for women over 65, to detect 
breast cancer so it can be treated early. Right now, Medicare only 
covers this procedure every 2 years.
  It covers colorectal screening to detect colon cancer.
  It improves mental health coverage.
  It eliminates the limit on lifetime hospitalization.
  It will put a cap on how much seniors have to spend each year from 
their own pockets, a feature of many private insurance plans which 
Medicare has not had. Seniors will know what's the most they might have 
to pay, and they can plan accordingly.
  It expands managed-care plans under Medicare, offering additional 
benefits to seniors with no additional cost.
  Finally, the Gephardt bill addresses the biggest worry for millions 
of families--long-term care. The bill includes a program of grants to 
states for home-and community-based long-term care services. It also 
sets standards for private long-term care insurance, so people can 
invest in this coverage with confidence and security.
  These are all important and long overdue improvements. They will 
bring Medicare up to the standard of the best private insurance plans. 
That's what older Americans need and deserve.
  But we also have to deal with the cost of Medicare. Senior citizens 
know, better than anyone else, that there's no free lunch. Medicare is 
the fastest-growing program in the Federal budget. Health care 
inflation is eating up the family budget and the Federal budget. Unless 
we find a way to control this inflation, we will never make a dent in 
the Federal deficit, no matter how many programs we cut.
  That's why every health care bill on the table includes provisions to 
hold down future Medicare spending. The Gephardt bill reduces the rate 
of growth from 11 percent to 8 percent a year.
  What does that mean? Some people will tell you that it means seniors 
won't get the health care they need. That's baloney.
  Some people will tell you it's impossible to control health care 
costs--they just have to keep rising out of control, year after year. 
That's baloney too. If we can put the defense of our Nation, and the 
education of our children, on a budget, then we can put the health care 
system on a budget too.
  Finally, we hear some people talk about Government-run health care--
the worst thing in the world, they tell us. Medicare is not perfect, 
but it provides health security for people who worked hard, raised 
their families, and paid their dues.
  I don't know anyone who would prefer to go back to the days before 
Medicare, not even those who voted against it 30 years ago. But I guess 
all those who complain about Government-run health care are really 
saying they want to get rid of Medicare.
  All Americans will benefit from the Gephardt bill. But seniors will 
be real winners. The bill adds much-needed Medicare benefits. It 
controls costs, so seniors don't have to keep paying more and more out 
of their own pockets. And it provides security and peace of mind--not 
only that they will have medical care, but so will their children and 
their children's children.
  I'm proud to be on their side as this historic debate begins and I 
urge my colleagues to support the Gephardt bill.

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