[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21218]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            HEALTH CARE REFORM: DISPELLING MYTHS FOR SENIORS

  (Ms. HIRONO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. HIRONO. The most damaging aspect of the misinformation 
circulating about health care insurance reform is the use of scare 
tactics targeted at our seniors. The cynical irony is that the 
misinformation targeting seniors is largely perpetuated by the very 
people who fought the establishment of Medicare and wanted to privatize 
Social Security.
  Here are the facts about some common myths:
  Myth No. 1, there will be rationing of health care. Not true. The 
bill promotes effective treatments through research.
  Myth No. 2, Medicare will be eliminated. Not true. In fact, reform 
will lower prescription drug costs for people in the doughnut hole, 
allow them to keep the doctors of their choice, improve the quality of 
care and eliminate billions in waste.
  Closing the doughnut hole is especially important for Hawaii's 
seniors. We have the highest percentage; 36 percent compared to 26 
percent nationally of our beneficiaries fall into this doughnut hole.
  Our current health care system, the costliest in the world for what 
we get, with ever increasing costs year after year, can't be sustained. 
I urge my colleagues to support reform now.

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