[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6386]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   RAIDING MEDICARE HURTS OUR SENIORS

  (Mr. BOUSTANY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, last week, the nonpartisan Centers for 
Medicare & Medicaid Services released an actuarial report that shows 
that the President's new health care law will increase health care 
costs over and above what was expected; premiums for families and small 
businesses will rise beyond what was expected; and access to a 
physician will suffer for many, many Americans. They also showed that 
the $500 billion in indiscriminate cuts to Medicare to pay for a new 
entitlement is a very deep cut that will hurt access to care for many 
of our seniors. Half of all seniors in the Medicare Advantage program 
will lose their current coverage. I have 140,000 seniors in my State of 
Louisiana who depend on Medicare Advantage in rural areas for access to 
a doctor. They're going to lose that kind of coverage that gives them 
that valued access to the physician of their choice.
  This bill, this law, fails to lower costs. It creates red tape and 
bureaucracy, and it really does nothing to enhance quality for most 
Americans.

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