[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 109 (Tuesday, July 23, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H8110]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REPUBLICANS SAVING MEDICARE?

  (Mr. WISE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. WISE. Mr. Speaker, let us jump into this Medicare debate because 
I am fascinated to hear about my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle saying how they are saving Medicare. I say, ``Oh, don't toss me 
that life preserver if you're going to be the lifeguard, because let's 
talk about what they do.''
  They say they are raising the amount over 7 years from $5,000 to 
$7,000 per beneficiary. What they do not tell us is that roughly it 
would be $8,400 under the present program, which means beneficiaries 
will be paying several hundred dollars more out of pocket. My 
colleagues may not call that a cut. I think they are going to call that 
a cut.
  They relax some of the restrictions on balanced billing. That means 
that doctors can overcharge, charge more than what Medicare will permit 
them to charge. They will be relaxed in certain instances. I do not 
think that is a big help. This is the same group that, if my colleagues 
remember, earlier wanted to relax Federal nursing home standards. We 
cannot have the Federal Government involved in that, protecting 
seniors, can we?

                              {time}  1045

  So these are all issues. Incidentally, do we want this Medicare 
reform to really save Medicare? If that were the case, we need far less 
in Medicare reductions than what they are proposing. No; it is to pay 
for a tax cut for the wealthiest individuals in this country. That is 
not saving Medicare.

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