[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 60 (Tuesday, April 27, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H2891]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                GOOD NEWS ABOUT MEDICARE AND HEALTH CARE

  (Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I have some excellent news to 
share. Just last week, the CMS' independent actuary released an 
analysis of the health care reform legislation that we passed last 
month here in this Chamber. Their report shows that we are 
strengthening Medicare.
  Indeed, according to the Office of the Actuary, the Affordable Care 
Act will help extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund by an 
additional 12 years to 2029, compared to 2017 today. It closes the 
prescription drug doughnut hole by 2020, with an immediate rebate this 
year of $250 and a 50-percent discount on brand-name drugs next year. 
It lowers annual premiums by nearly $200 per beneficiary. It lowers 
annual average coinsurance by over $200 per beneficiary, and it 
provides preventive wellness care visits for free.
  When we passed health care reform, Democrats stood up for seniors by 
strengthening Medicare and closing the prescription drug doughnut hole 
that was wide open and would be left wide open under the Republicans' 
plan. Under their radical plan to repeal health care, we will move in 
the wrong direction.

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