[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 119 (Friday, July 21, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1488-E1489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         MEDICARE AND MEDICAID

                                 ______


                     HON. DOUGLAS ``PETE'' PETERSON

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 21, 1995
  Mr. PETERSON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I've heard a lot the past 
several weeks about deficit reduction. And I've heard a lot about the 
urgent need to reform Medicare and Medicaid.
  Although there is widespread agreement among nearly every Member of 
in this Chamber with regard to the above mentioned principles, let me 
remind my colleagues that Medicare cannot be saved through a simple 
line item on a budget bill, nor can Medicaid be reformed by simply 
changing it to a block grant and passing it off to the States. These 
ideas 

[[Page E1489]]
have been discussed by some as the solution to all the problems that 
face these programs, a quick and easy resolution to the approaching 
crisis.
  But now, strong and decisive steps are necessary to make a serious 
attempt at reducing the Federal budget deficit. Nevertheless, some 
Members of this body want to take a walk when it comes time to tackle 
the fastest growing segment of the Federal budget--health care. It is 
simply indisputable that we can never make more than a dent in the 
long-term budget deficit facing our children unless we seriously 
address reform of our health care system.
  Contrary to the rhetoric that has been thrown about by defenders of 
the status quo, health care reform--sensible health care reform, does 
not mean mandates and big-government internvetion. Instead, sensible 
health care reform means ensuring that working Americans do not have to 
live in fear of losing their insurance should they or a member of their 
family get sick or injured. It means getting a grip on the rampant 
cost-shifting that raises the cost of health care services for all 
Americans.
  Unfortunately, the leadership of this House has chosen to ignore this 
complex issue. However, on Wednesday I and several of my colleagues 
introduced H.R. 2071, the Health Care Improvement Act of 1995. This 
bill includes many of the reforms on which we can all agree, such as 
insurance reform and administrative simplification. But, unlike the 
other incremental health care bills that have been introduced in this 
Congress, my bill makes long-overdue systematic changes in Medicaid by 
allowing low-income persons to join the private health insurance 
market.
  My bill will also give much greater choice to Medicare beneficiaries 
by providing them the opportunity to join a private insurance plan. 
This is not a push into a low-cost, bare bones plan; it is not a push 
into anything. It is simply one more option for Medicare beneficiaries 
to choose from.
  Mr. Speaker, health care reform should not be a partisan issue. I 
wrote this bill in an effort to craft something that could garner the 
support of the American people, not to simply make a political 
statement. This bill represents a realistic approach to health care 
reform, and I encourage each of my colleagues to take a close look at 
H.R. 2071. I think you will like what you see.
  In the meantime, we should all think about whether it is better to 
reform Medicare and Medicaid, or simply to take a meat axe to those 
programs in order to fulfill an arbitrarily-set budget number. The 
answer is clear.


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