[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 51 (Wednesday, April 14, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E645-E646]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               BREAUX-THOMAS PLAN IS NO CURE FOR MEDICARE

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                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 14, 1999

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, thirty-nine million senior citizens and 
persons with disabilities on Medicare are relying on Congress to do the 
right thing. They are counting on Congress to save Medicare, a program 
that continues to improve the quality of life for millions of people. 
But they are certainly not counting on Congress to privatize Medicare 
and turn over the program to for-profit HMOs and insurance companies. 
The Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare debated such a 
plan. And that is the reason why the Commission did not have enough 
votes to make a formal recommendation to Congress. The Commission's 
proposal would have been a disaster for seniors and persons with 
disabilities and a boon for the HMOs and insurance industry.
  My recent remarks printed in the Chicago Sun-Times follow:

       The Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare nearly 
     approved a plan to save Medicare. But a fundamental 
     consideration was strangely missing from the proposal by 
     Medicare Commission Chair Senator John Breaux (D-LA) and co-
     chair Representative Bill Thomas (R-CA): the detrimental 
     effect this plan would have on the millions of seniors and 
     persons with disabilities who rely on Medicare.
       The simple fact is that the proposal nearly passed by the 
     Medicare Commission is a disaster. It is a disaster for 
     seniors and persons with disabilities.
       By far the majority of the proposed ``savings'' under the 
     Breaux-Thomas plan would

[[Page E646]]

     come from pushing seniors and persons with disabilities into 
     HMOs and increasing costs to those who want to stay in 
     traditional Medicare.
       Under this plan, Medicare beneficiaries who wish to remain 
     with their own doctors would pay higher premiums (as much as 
     $1200 a year). Many seniors, who already pay more than 20% of 
     their income for health care, would face even greater cost-
     sharing when they need home health and other services. And 
     despite the problems older persons face in finding affordable 
     insurance, the proposal would shut 65 and 66 year olds out of 
     Medicare.
       Members of the Medicare Commission who supported the 
     Breaux-Thomas plan seem to have faith in a managed care 
     industry that cuts corners on care, reduces benefits, and 
     threatens to pull out of Medicare altogether unless 
     participants pay significantly higher premiums. Those of us 
     who oppose turning Medicare over to the HMOs respectfully 
     disagree. Privatizing Medicare and handing over the medical 
     well-being of millions of senior citizens to for-profit 
     managed care corporations is not what President Lyndon Baines 
     Johnson and Congress envisioned back in 1965. HMOs are not 
     the answer. They are the problem.
       As a member of the Democratic Task Force on Medicare, I 
     join with many of my colleagues and experts in the field of 
     health care to support the President's proposal to use 15 
     percent of the budget surplus to shore up Medicare. This will 
     ensure the program's solvency until the year 2027. We also 
     believe that Medicare is in need of improvement and that 
     seniors deserve increased benefits. That is why we also 
     support seniors' access to affordable prescription drugs and 
     long term care, and a reduction in out-of-pocket expenses.
       Medicare participants now have the peace of mind of knowing 
     that health care decisions are made on the basis of sound 
     medical science and not on the financial needs of 
     stockholders and managers. But turning over Medicare to the 
     HMOs is a radical step backward that will only harm seniors 
     living on fixed incomes. If this plan is adopted, seniors 
     will receive fewer benefits, marginal care, and will face 
     rising costs. The Breaux-Thomas proposal is not the answer.

     

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