[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17910]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   PROPOSED MEDICARE BILLS FALL SHORT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gingrey). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I, too, feel the unease of those who spoke 
before me about the information the President gave us on a reason for 
going to Iraq. I think it requires investigation. It requires us to 
know the truth. I do hope when Tony Blair comes on Thursday, we will 
begin to know the truth.
  But in the meanwhile, I want to inform American seniors about the 
Medicare reform bill that will be considered by the House/Senate 
conferees. I want to protect and respect our seniors, but I am shocked 
at the bill the House majority passed by only one vote just over a week 
ago. Medicare beneficiaries have waited a long time for help; but, 
unfortunately, the proposed legislation falls short of what seniors and 
disabled Americans have been waiting for.
  We are at a time when we know the miracle of science. Prescription 
drugs can be miraculous in their power to cure and improve the quality 
of life of our seniors. We in government have the responsibility to 
capitalize on the advantages of science and help our seniors. By adding 
a prescription drug benefit to Medicare, a program that seniors know 
and trust, seniors will have an improved quality of life at a reduced 
cost to taxpayers over the long term.
  A Medicare prescription drug benefit should be affordable, reducing 
the exorbitant prices of drugs, meaningful with guaranteed benefits, 
within Medicare, and available to all regardless of where they live.
  So it is with great disappointment, Mr. Speaker, that I look at the 
proposals that were on this floor for Medicare reform. The House 
Republican bill fails to meet each one of the basic standards. The 
House bill does nothing to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. It 
creates a coverage gap so wide that almost 50 percent of seniors will 
fall into it.
  Under the House bill, seniors pay the first $250 of their drug costs, 
then 20 percent up to $2,000. They will receive no assistance at all 
between $2,000 and $4,900. The bill also allows insurers to vary their 
benefit levels and prices around the country. Insurers will be able to 
limit access to specific drugs and pharmaceuticals. The House bill 
fails to guarantee the same benefits for the 9.2 million Medicare 
beneficiaries in rural communities, and it even prohibits the Secretary 
of HHS from negotiating a better price for seniors.
  The bill that was passed by the House is designed to privatize 
Medicare, leaving seniors at the mercy of the HMOs and private 
insurance plans.
  This bill uses private drug-only plans to administer the prescription 
drug program. These are plans that do not exist anywhere today. These 
plans could force seniors to leave trusted doctors and hospitals. Even 
worse, by 2010 the House bill turns the traditional Medicare program 
into a voucher program.
  The Federal Government should provide a safety net for the citizens 
of America. Unfortunately, the House-passed bill does not include any 
important fall-back provisions. Under the Senate-passed bill, if at 
least two private plans fail to enter the market in a region, the 
Federal Government will step in and offer beneficiaries a Medicare 
prescription drug benefit. Private plans have not worked in many parts 
of the country, and over the past 5 years more than 2 million seniors 
have been abandoned by private HMOs seeking higher profit elsewhere.
  I urge my colleagues to recognize this failure and vote accordingly. 
American seniors, do not be fooled.

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