[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 130 (Saturday, August 5, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1693-E1694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     MEDICARE AND POINT-OF-SERVICE

                                 ______


                         HON. BILL K. BREWSTER

                              of oklahoma

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 4, 1995
  Mr. BREWSTER. Mr. Speaker, as we move toward consideration of 
Medicare reform proposals, I would like to draw my colleagues' 
attention to a national survey released Wednesday, July 26, 1995. This 
survey revealed that four out of five Americans age 50 and over said 
they would not join a Medicare managed 

[[Page E1694]]

care plan without the freedom to continue seeing their current doctor, 
a specialist, or other provider when they become ill.
  I rise today to speak about the necessity of preserving this freedom 
of choice as an essential element of any Medicare reform proposal. Many 
of my colleagues advocate increased use of managed care as one of the 
necessary steps to save our Medicare system.
  This may be true, but we have a responsibility to ensure real freedom 
of choice for our elderly even within a managed care environment. It 
should be clear to all of us that unless we preserve these freedoms, 
Medicare managed care will not work because people will not join.
  Americans so deeply value their freedom of choice in doctors that I 
believe it is essential to include these survey results in the 
Congressional Record, and ask the Chair that full results of the survey 
be printed in the Congressional Record immediately following my 
statement. I strongly encourage my colleagues to keep them in mind as 
we move forward to reform the Medicare system.
     Medicare Reform Survey--July 26, 1995, Summary of Key Findings

       Between June 30 and July 11, 1995, ICR Research polled a 
     nationally representative sample of Americans age 50 and over 
     on their views concerning Medicare reform. The results carry 
     a plus or minus 3.2 margin of error. The key findings of this 
     survey are as follows:
       Roughly three out of four Americans (72 percent) age 50 and 
     older would not join a Medicare managed care program without 
     the freedom to continue seeing their current doctor or turn 
     to a specialist when they become ill.
       Fifty-five percent ranked the ``right to choose [their] own 
     doctor or hospital'' most important from a list that included 
     three Contract with America items: ``the right to pray in 
     school'' (20 percent), ``the right to bear arms'' (9 percent) 
     and ``the right to limit the number of terms a member of 
     Congress can serve'' (10 percent).
       Fully 82 percent of respondents said that whether a 
     prospective Medicare managed care program allowed them the 
     freedom to choose out-of-network physicians and specialists 
     would be ``critically important/important'' to their decision 
     to join one.
       Seventy-two percent of respondents said they would be more 
     likely to join a Medicare managed care program that preserved 
     their freedom to continue seeing their own doctor and 
     guaranteed them access to specialists inside and outside the 
     network--even for a small co-payment--than to join one that 
     covered the cost of their prescription medications, but 
     restricted their freedom to choose their care provider.
       Sixty-three percent of all respondents said they would be 
     inclined to join a Medicare managed care program that allows 
     them to continue seeing their current doctor or a specialist, 
     outside the managed care network, for a higher co-payment or 
     deductible.
       Even among lower-income seniors (those making less than 
     $15,000 a year), 64 percent said they would choose a Medicare 
     managed care program with the freedom-to-choose feature (for 
     a reasonable co-payment) over a Medicare managed care program 
     that covers the cost of prescription medications. Eighty-
     three percent of respondents making over $50,000 gave the 
     same response.