    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [January 6, 1998]
    [Pages 5-6]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 5]]

    Remarks Announcing Proposed Legislation on Medicare
    January 6, 1998

        Thank you, Ruth. I think she has made clearer
    than I could ever hope to that, for many Americans, access to quality
    health care can mean the difference between a secure, healthy, and
    productive life, and the enormous burden of illness and worry and
    enormous financial strain.
        Today the proposals I am making are designed to address the problems
    of some of our most vulnerable older Americans. I propose three new
    health care options that would give them the security they deserve. The
    centerpiece of our plan will let many more of these Americans buy into
    one of our Nation's greatest achievements, Medicare.
        When Medicare was first enacted, President Johnson said, and I
    quote, ``It proved that the vitality of our democracy can shape the
    oldest of our values to the needs and obligations of changing times.''
    Once again we are faced with changing times: a new economy that changes
    the way we work and the way we live; new technologies and medical
    breakthroughs holding out hope for longer, healthier lives; a new
    century brimming with promise but still full of challenge and much more
    rapid change. The values remain the same, but the new times demand that
    we find new ways to create opportunity for all Americans.
        For the past 5 years, we have had an economic strategy designed to
    expand opportunity and strengthen our families in changing times,
    insisting on fiscal responsibility, expanding trade, investing in all
    our people. Yesterday I announced that the budget I will submit to
    Congress in 3 weeks will be a balanced budget, the first one in 30
    years. Within this balanced budget, we propose to expand health care
    access for millions of Americans.
        Last summer, with the balanced budget agreement I signed, we took
    action to extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund until at least
    2010, and we appointed a Medicare commission to make sure that Medicare
    can meet the needs of the baby boom generation. We took action to root
    out fraud and abuse in the Medicare system, assigning more prosecutors,
    shutting down fly-by-night home health care providers, taking steps to
    put an end to overpayments for prescription drugs. Since I took office,
    we have saved over $20 billion in health care claims, money that would
    have been wasted, gone instead to provide quality health care for some
    of our most vulnerable citizens.
        We want to continue to do everything possible to ensure that the
    same system that served our parents can also serve our children. That
    means bringing Medicare into the 21st century in a fiscally responsible
    way that recognizes the changing needs of our people in a new era.
        We know that for different reasons more and more Americans are
    retiring or leaving the work force before they become eligible for
    Medicare at age 65. We know that far too many of these men and women do
    not have health insurance. Some of them lose their health coverage when
    their spouse becomes eligible for Medicare and loses his or her health
    insurance at work. That's the story we heard today.
        Some lose their coverage when they lose their jobs because of
    downsizing or layoffs. Still others lose their insurance when their
    employers unexpectedly drop their retirement health care plans. These
    people have spent their lifetimes working hard, supporting their
    families, contributing to society. And just at the time they most need
    health care, they are least attractive to health insurers who demand
    higher premiums or deny coverage outright.
        The legislation that I propose today recognizes these new conditions
    and takes action to expand access to health care to millions of
    Americans. First, for the first time, people between the ages of 62 and
    65 will be able to buy into the Medicare program at a fixed premium rate
    that, for many, is far more affordable than private insurance but firmly
    based in the actual cost of insuring people in this age group and, as
    you just heard from what Ruth said, far, far more affordable than the
    out-of-pocket costs that people have to pay if they need it.
        This is an entirely new way of adapting a program that has worked in
    the past to the needs of the future. It is a fiscally responsible plan
    that finances itself by charging an affordable premium up front and a
    small payment later to ensure that this places no new burdens on
    Medicare. It will provide access to health

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    care for hundreds of thousands of Americans, and it is clearly the right
    thing to do.
        Second, statistics show that older Americans who lose their jobs are
    much less likely to find new employment. And far too often, when they
    lose their jobs, they also lose their health insurance. Under this
    proposal, people between the ages of 55 and 65 who have been laid off or
    displaced will also be able to buy into Medicare early, protecting them
    against the debilitating costs of unforeseen illness.
        Third, we know that in recent years too many employers have walked
    away from their commitments to provide retirement health benefits to
    longtime, loyal employees. Under our proposal, these employees, also
    between the ages of 55 and 65, will be allowed to buy into their former
    employers' health plans until they qualify for Medicare. And thank you,
    Congressman, for your long fight on this
    issue.
        Taken together, these steps will help to take our health care system
    into the 21st century, providing more American families with the health
    care they need to thrive, maintaining the fiscal responsibility that is
    giving more Americans the chance to live out their dreams, shaping our
    most enduring values to meet the needs of changing times. It is the
    right thing to do. And thank you, Ruth, for
    demonstrating that to us today.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:40 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the
    White House. In his remarks, he referred to Ruth Kain, a heart patient
    who was denied full health insurance coverage after her husband's
    retirement at age 65; and Representative Gerald D. Kleczka of Wisconsin.