    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [April 29, 2000]
    [Pages 791-792]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    April 29, 2000

        Good morning. Next week, when the full Congress returns from Easter
    recess, they'll have less than 75 working days left to make this year a
    year of real progress for the American people. There is no more
    important critical piece of unfinished business than our need to ensure
    that every American, young and old, has adequate, affordable health
    care.
        Today I want to again urge the Congress to step up to this challenge
    by making the passage of a strong Patients' Bill of Rights and the
    provision of a voluntary Medicare prescription drug benefit top
    priorities when they return to Washington.
        This critical legislation is long overdue. The more than 190 million
    Americans who use managed care or other insurance plans have waited too
    long for a strong, enforceable Patients' Bill of Rights. They deserve
    the right to see a specialist, to emergency room care wherever and
    whenever they need it, and the right to hold health care plans
    accountable for harmful decisions.
        Last year, in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, the House passed a
    strong Patients' Bill of Rights that provides the right protections all
    Americans need and deserve. It's a bill I would sign. But more than 6
    months later, the bill is still languishing in Congress. Despite their
    pledge to complete a real bill, the Republican majority has not only
    delayed action, it's actually considering legislation that would leave
    tens of millions of Americans without Federal protections.
        A right that can't be enforced isn't a right at all, it's just a
    request. We need a strong bill that protects all Americans and all
    plans, not one that provides more cover for the special interests than
    real coverage for American patients.
        Congress also has an obligation to strengthen Medicare and modernize
    it, with a voluntary, affordable prescription drug benefit. No one
    creating a Medicare program today would even think of excluding coverage
    for prescription drugs. Yet more than three in five older Americans
    still lack affordable and dependable prescription drug coverage.
        Just this week we saw further evidence of the unacceptable burden
    the growing cost of prescription drugs places on senior Americans.
    According to a report by the nonprofit group, Families USA, the price of
    prescription drugs most often used by seniors has risen at double the
    rate of inflation for 6 years running, a burden that falls hardest on
    seniors who lack drug

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    coverage because they simply don't receive the price discounts most
    insurers negotiate.
        Seniors and people with disabilities living on fixed incomes simply
    cannot continue to cope with these kinds of price increases. That's why
    we must take action to help them, not next year or the year after that
    but this year. My budget includes a comprehensive plan to modernize
    Medicare and provide for a long overdue prescription drug benefit for
    all beneficiaries.
        I'm pleased there's growing bipartisan support for tackling this
    challenge. Earlier this month Republican leaders in the House put forth
    an outline of a plan that offers as a stated goal access to affordable
    coverage for all older Americans. Unfortunately, their plan falls short
    of meeting the goal. It would do virtually nothing for seniors with
    modest middle class incomes between $15,000 and $50,000 a year. Nearly
    half of all Medicare beneficiaries who lack prescription drug coverage
    fall into that category.
        It's not too late to give all our seniors real prescription drug
    coverage this year. We can work together on a plan that's affordable,
    dependable, and available to all older Americans.
        So I say to Congress, when you come back to Washington next week,
    let's get back to work on a strong, enforceable Patients' Bill of
    Rights; let's get back to work on voluntary Medicare prescription drug
    benefits. The health care of Americans is too important to be
    sidetracked by partisan politics. The need is urgent, and the time to
    act is now.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 5:58 p.m. on April 28 in the Oval
    Office at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on April 29. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    April 28 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast.