[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 26 (Thursday, March 9, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E270-E271]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE MEDICARE WELLNESS ACT OF 2000

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SANDER M. LEVIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 9, 2000

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to join with my colleague, 
Mark Foley, in introducing the Medicare Wellness Act of 2000. We 
believe this bill will accelerate Medicare's transformation from a 
``sickness'' program to a ``wellness'' program. Helping seniors stay 
healthy improves quality of life for Medicare beneficiaries, and in the 
long run, it will save Medicare money on hospitals and nursing homes.
  The Medicare Wellness Act would modernize Medicare by adding basic 
preventive care benefits. Most working Americans take these benefits--
things like blood pressure screening, glaucoma testing, and cholesterol 
screening--for granted. Unfortunately, the Medicare program currently 
pays nothing if seniors choose to get these screenings.
  In 1997, Congress added the first preventive care benefits to 
Medicare. For the first time, Medicare beneficiaries could get 
mammograms, colorectal cancern screening, and diabetes self-management 
services. Unfortunately, the number of seniors getting those screenings 
has not increased as much as we hoped. Part of the reason is that all 
those benefits are still subject to Medicare cost-sharing. For many 
seniors, that means they still can't afford to get the screenings they 
need. Another problem is that seniors simply are not aware of the new 
benefits. The Medicare Wellness Act would correct both problems by 
eliminating cost sharing for prevention services and authorizing new 
public education efforts.
  In my congressional district, use of Medicare's prevention benefits 
is still disappointingly low. According to researchers at the Dartmouth 
Medical School, over 70% of my senior constituents do not receive 
annual mammograms, and over 80% are not screened for colorectal cancer. 
I believe the Medicare Wellness Act will help improve these rates, 
while also giving 1.4 million people in Michigan access to new 
prevention benefits.
  We are pleased to be joined in this effort by Senators Bob Graham, 
Jim Jeffords, and Jeff Bingaman, who have introduced companion 
legislation in the other body.
  The bipartisan, bicameral consensus that Medicare needs to cover 
preventive benefits gives us a real opportunity to improve Medicare 
now. The sooner we act, the sooner senior citizens will have better 
health insurance.

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