[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9727]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         DEFINITION OF MEDICARE

  (Mr. POLIS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. POLIS. There's been a lot of discussion in the House about how 
best to characterize the Republican plan to eliminate Medicare. I want 
to start with the definition. The Oxford English Dictionary definition 
of Medicare: a Federal system of health insurance for people over 65 
years of age and for certain younger people with disabilities. So, 
again, a Federal system of health insurance.
  If you replace a Federal system of health insurance with a Federal 
system of assistance or a voucher or helping to pay part of the cost, 
you don't have anything that meets the definition of what we know as 
Medicare. Maybe they want to call it ``Medi-Assist.'' Maybe they want 
to call it ``Medi-Voucher.'' Maybe it covers part of the cost of care 
for some people. Maybe it costs a lot less than it really costs to get 
health care insurance for others. In fact, according to nonpartisan 
estimates, the average senior will have to pay $6,000 more for health 
care by the time the Republican budget is fully implemented. But 
whatever it is, it ain't Medicare.
  Medicare is very simple. The American people truly understand what 
Medicare is. We all have family that rely on Medicare. Lord knows, we 
need to improve Medicare to help make sure it's sustainable for the 
next generation. Ending Medicare is not an improvement.

                          ____________________