    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [July 13, 2001]
    [Pages 845-847]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland
    July 13, 2001

        Thank you very much. Dr. Miller,
    it's my honor to be here in the number one hospital in the United States
    to talk about an incredibly important issue. And that's Medicare and how
    to make sure it's relevant as we head into the 21st century.
        I want to thank you for giving me a chance to come. I'm honored to
    be traveling today with Tommy Thompson. I
    knew Tommy as a Governor. I knew he'd be a great Secretary of Health and
    Human Services, and he's proved me right. I appreciate you being here,
    Tommy.
        I want to thank Dr. Brody. I want to
    thank Mr. Peterson. I want to thank
    Congressman Cummings, Congressman
    Ehrlich for being here as well. Mr.
    Mayor, thank you very much for coming. I
    appreciate the baseball bat with Cal Ripken's signature on it. [Laughter]
        I am so proud of the health care system of America. We're the best
    in the world. We've got the best docs in the world. We've got the best
    research in the world. We've got the best hospitals in the world. And I
    intend to keep it that way. It's really important that our health care
    be responsive and innovative and rewarding.
        And there are some bills coming up in front of Congress now that
    will help determine the course of medicine. One is called the Patients'
    Bill of Rights. It's really important that we not have our system laden
    down by unnecessary lawsuits, that when we pass legislation, we keep
    patients in mind and make sure patients have direct access to
    specialists and make sure patients have the capacity to take their
    complaints to an independent review organization so that the complaint
    can be remedied quickly, not held up in a court of law.
        I think we'll get a pretty good piece of legislation out. I
    certainly hope so, because it's part of a reform process, all aimed at
    making our health care system focus on patients and their relationship
    with doctors.
        The big issue also confronting us is Medicare. The other day in the
    Rose Garden I laid out a Medicare set of guidelines, and I'm going to
    reiterate those here today. But I started off my talk by reminding
    people that another Texas President, Lyndon Johnson, started Medicare.
    And he presented former President Harry Truman with the first Medicare
    card, as he outlined the dream of Medicare.
        And the truth of the matter is, Medicare has met the goals of
    America. Seniors are better off as a result of Medicare. But the problem
    with Medicare is, medicine changes, and Medicare has not. Medicine in
    the United States is changing dramatically, and I witnessed firsthand
    some of the fascinating technologies taking place in your eye clinic
    here and incredibly important changes when it comes to kidney
    transplants.
        And yet, oftentimes, as innovation occurs in the health care area,
    Medicare is stuck in the past. It won't change, because it's too
    bureaucratic. The other day I said, you know, 1965 is when the program
    started, and even though a lot of people think the 1965 Mustang was the
    best car ever made, it wasn't very modern. And even though Medicare may
    be the best invention of man, it's not very modern today.
        And so, in the Rose Garden and here again at Johns Hopkins, I call
    upon the Congress to work with the administration to modernize Medicare,
    to make sure the Medicare system reflects the great hopes and promises
    of the health care in the 21st century. And what does that mean?
        Well, it means, first and foremost, that anybody who likes Medicare
    today can stay on Medicare; that if you're happy with the Medicare
    system, getting up in your years, you're not interested in change, that
    you

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    should be allowed to stay in the system as it is. In other words, no
    change, no threats, no problems.
        However, Medicare also ought to do what it does for Federal
    employees. The Federal Congress ought to say, ``If it's okay for Federal
    employees to have a variety of choices from which to choose, so should
    America's seniors. If it's okay for people who work for the Federal
    Government to be able to pick and choose a plan that meets his or her
    needs, seniors ought to be able to do that as well.''
        So we need to bring new opportunities and options into Medicare for
    America's seniors, all of which must include prescription drug benefits,
    all of which must understand that part of the innovation that has taken
    place in the medical arena has included brandnew prescription drugs and
    new opportunities for people to have prescription drugs, and
    prescription drugs needs to be an integral part of Medicare, not only
    the system that exists today but whatever options seniors choose to use
    in the future.
        Thirdly, any good Medicare system will create competition for
    service and will reduce premium.
        Fourthly, any good Medicare system must have stop-loss insurance
    provided for patients. I mean, we have a system today in Medicare where
    there's no telling how much people pay, depending upon the complications
    on the procedure. And that's not right. We need stop-loss. We need to
    say to seniors, there is certainty when it comes to your Medicare bills.
    And that's not the case today in Medicare.
        And at the same time, we've got to recognize that we need to take
    care of low-income seniors as well. There are going to be some seniors
    that simply aren't going to be able to afford much. And our Government
    must be kind and generous in taking care of those seniors.
        And finally, this system needs to be on sound financial footing.
    Trying to figure out Medicare financing is pretty confusing for the
    layman. We've got one fund where everybody says it's got a surplus;
    we've got a second fund that's in significant deficit. And that kind of
    accounting has got to stop. We need honesty in accounting when it comes
    to Medicare, by combining both Part A and Part B into a unified trust,
    so the American people know exactly what's happening in the Medicare
    system.
        Those are the guidelines I laid out. I'm pleased to report to you,
    yesterday in the Rose Garden there were some Democrat Members, there
    were some Republican Members, and there was even an independent Senator.
    [Laughter] This is an incredibly important issue.
        Now, I understand politics pretty well, and I'm afraid the American
    people do too. They've seen what happens with the Medicare issue. That's
    why, in the political vernacular, they call it ``Mediscare,'' because
    somebody who comes along and tries to do what's right will have the
    issue used against them for political purposes.
        The truth of the matter is, I'm not afraid of the issue, because
    it's the right thing to do. We've got a lot of baby boomers, like me,
    fixing to retire. And we had better make sure we modernize the system to
    make sure the system is whole and sound for tomorrow's seniors.
        But we also have an obligation for today's seniors. And the idea
    that many seniors can't access the latest technology, many seniors on
    Medicare don't have the same benefit that other seniors do in the
    private markets--who've got private insurance--just simply is not right.
        And so it's time for the United States Congress to set aside the
    kind of political bickering that has tended to dominate our Nation's
    Capital, and to focus on what's right for the people--it's to seize this
    moment before it's too late, to come together, both parties coming
    together, to modernize Medicare, to make it sound but also to make sure
    it's a compassionate system and one that works.

    [[Page 847]]

        Health care is an incredibly important part of our country. It's
    what sets America apart. It makes our land so incredibly unique. And
    those of us who hold high office have the obligation to make sure the
    system works as best as it possibly can.
        I want to thank the docs for your hard work and your compassion. My
    hope is that with proper reforms, we'll continue to attract the best and
    brightest in our society to the medical profession, so that doctors
    actually get to perform their talent, as opposed to spend hours on
    paperwork; that you get to spend more time in your offices, as opposed
    to the courtrooms; that you get to practice the medicine for which
    you've been trained.
        I want to thank the folks here at Hopkins for setting up a fine
    example for hospitals all across the land. And I want to thank my fellow
    citizens for giving me a chance to be the President of the greatest
    country on the face of the Earth.
        Thank you for letting me come by, and God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:45 p.m. in Hurd Hall. In his remarks, he
    referred to Edward D. Miller, Jr., M.D., chief executive officer, Johns
    Hopkins Medicine; William R. Brody, Ph.D., president, Johns Hopkins
    University; Ronald R. Peterson, president, Johns Hopkins Hospital; Mayor
    Martin O'Malley of Baltimore; and Baltimore Orioles third baseman Cal
    Ripken, Jr.