[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 79 (Wednesday, June 15, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H4493]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MEDICAID REFORM

  (Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, when you hear Governors talk about 
Medicaid, the one word they use, regardless of party or what region of 
the country they represent, the one word they use over and over again 
is ``unsustainable.''
  In 2005, the Medicaid program has grown to become a program that 
costs Federal and State governments $330 billion a year and covers 50 
million beneficiaries. States grapple with the cost of the program, 
providers struggle to participate in Medicaid, and beneficiaries ask 
whether it is meeting their needs.
  Mr. Speaker, if we were creating this program today, I doubt the 
current Medicaid system is one that any one of us would visualize. We 
should not shy away from reviewing this program to ensure that it is 
meeting its stated mandate: to provide quality care for the disabled, 
poor, elderly, and the frail.
  Is the program meeting this mandate? In terms of sheer magnitude, the 
Medicaid program has become unworkable, and growth is a constant. The 
program cannot continue to grow at its current rate and meet the needs 
of those that its covers.
  Oftentimes health care policy is a study in crisis management. We 
have come to a point with Medicaid that we will be pushed to make 
trade-offs. We must ensure that Medicaid serves as a true safety net, 
and we must have the institutional courage to review this program and 
make changes where necessary prior to its ultimate collapse from its 
own weight.

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