[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Pages 25798-25799]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     SENIORS AND HEALTH CARE REFORM

  (Mr. BILIRAKIS asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, in my State of Florida, millions of 
seniors rely on Medicare for their health care, including 130,000 in my 
district alone.
  On Monday, I held my annual seniors' health fair, which provides free 
health screenings to area seniors and which gives me an opportunity to 
continue getting their input on health care reform.
  The overwhelming consensus from seniors in my district is that the 
Democrats' health care reform proposals would lead to fewer choices, to 
higher costs and to reduced quality. Of particular concern to many of 
the seniors I spoke with was whether they would be able to keep their 
existing coverage.
  The House bill calls for $163 billion in cuts to Medicare Advantage, 
which is wildly popular with Florida seniors. The cuts will result in 
health care providers dropping out of the program, undermining choice 
and jeopardizing the more than 50,000 seniors in the Ninth District who 
rely on Medicare Advantage for their care.
  We must not harm the health care seniors already receive.

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