[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
[June 17, 2005]
[Pages 1007-1016]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks in a Discussion on Implementing the Medicare Modernization Act 
in Maple Grove, Minnesota
June 17, 2005

    The President. Thanks for the warm welcome. Thanks for the warm day 
too. [Laughter] It's good to be back in the great State of Minnesota. 
Thanks for coming. I think you're going to find this to be an 
interesting discussion we're about to have about Medicare. We're here to 
say to the seniors who live here in Minnesota and around the country 
that Medicare has been strengthened, reformed, and modernized, and we 
hope you take a look at it--the new program, because it's going to 
benefit a lot of people.
    So what you're about to see is Government in the process of 
educating folks about what's available, and I want to thank my fellow 
panelists for being here. I think you're going to find this to be an 
interesting discussion.
    Before I begin, I just want you to know that Laura sends her best. She's doing great, working on some new 
comedy material. [Laughter] But I'm really proud of her, and she and I 
are having the times of our life representing the United States of 
America, and I'm really lucky to have her by my side.
    I want to thank the Governor for being 
here. Governor, thanks for coming, I'm proud you're here. Thanks for 
serving. We've got the secretary of state here. Mary, thanks for being here. Oh, there she is. Hi, Mary. Thank 
you for coming. We've got the mayor, mayor of Maple Grove. I saw the 
mayor come in. Mayor--there he is. I 
appreciate you being--sitting by your old classmate. Thanks for having 
us. I want to thank all the folks who serve in the statehouse and local 
government. I appreciate you serving your State. I really want to tell 
you to thank your families. It's not easy to be in public office, and 
it's not easy to be in public office if you're a family member. But 
thanks for serving.
    I really want to thank the folks here at Maple Grove for letting us 
come by. It's not easy to host the President. [Laughter] It turns out 
his entourage is quite big these days. [Laughter] But I really want to 
thank you for letting us do this. I think you're going to find this will 
help the seniors who use this fantastic facility. It will help them at 
least understand there's new options available to them when it comes to 
making sure there's a prescription drug benefit available to them.
    I want to thank Mark. I'm going to 
talk a little bit about Mark in a second here,

[[Page 1008]]

but I want to thank Rhonda Whitenack, who 
is the Social Security Administration training instructor. I just was 
with Rhonda and some folks who have taken time out of their lives to 
learn what is available in this new program. See, this is a part of a 
grassroots effort to educate people, to explain to people what I'm about 
to explain to you. So, Rhonda, thank you very much. I want to thank Greg 
Chesmore of the Centers of Medicare and 
Medicaid Services, training instructor. [Laughter] His job is to 
instruct people, to educate people. That's his job. He works with Mark.
    I want to thank Lisa Jost, who is the manager 
of this fantastic facility. I want to thank you all for coming. I'm 
tired of thanking people. I appreciate you being here.
    By the way, I met John and Agnes 
Jurek. Where are they, the Jureks? I know they 
were at the airport. I think they came here with us. There they are. 
Thank you all for coming today. These are good folks who have 
volunteered for years in the Minneapolis area. They volunteer at the 
veterans center. See, they're volunteering to make somebody's life 
better. And the reason I've asked them to come and the reason why at the 
airport I thanked them for their volunteer work is if you really want to 
serve our country or your community, volunteer. Take time out of your 
life to help somebody. Teach a child to read. Feed the hungry. Find 
shelter for the homeless, and you will do a huge service to our country.
    See, the greatest strength about--the greatest thing about America 
is the fact that we've got people with such wonderful hearts, that they 
are willing to take time out of their lives, just like John and Agnes. And so John and 
Agnes, thanks for setting such a good example. We're proud you all are 
here.
    So Medicare worked for a lot of folks. But the problem is, medicine 
started to change, and Medicare wouldn't change with it quick enough. 
And I always believed since the Federal Government had made a commitment 
to elders to provide health care, that the health care we provide ought 
to be the best possible health care. In other words, if you're going to 
provide something, you ought to give it the best shot you can, and we 
weren't doing that when it came to Medicare.
    And I'll get you an example about one of the reasons why I became 
involved in this issue and called upon Congress to modernize the 
Medicare system. You know, the Government would pay $28,000 for ulcer 
surgery--I don't know if I got the right number, but it's close to 
that--but not one dime for the prescription drugs that would prevent the 
ulcer surgery from being needed in the first place. Or the Government 
would pay $100,000 for heart surgery but not the $1,000 a year necessary 
to stop the heart surgery from being needed in the first place, and that 
didn't seem to make sense to me. That's an example of what I mean by the 
system was outdated, and it wasn't doing what it was supposed to do.
    I believe those of us in public life have a responsibility to fix 
problems. I saw a problem, and fortunately, members of both political 
parties came together to fix this problem, to modernize Medicare.
    Now, let me tell you what the Medicare--the new Medicare bill means. 
The first thing that happened in the Medicare bill is we--for the first 
time the Federal Government decided to provide help for preventive care. 
In other words, it's a simple concept here. Let's give you a diagnosis 
early, when you sign up for Medicare so that if you've got a problem, 
we'll cure it early before it becomes acute.
    And so there is a Medicare preventive care provision now available 
for seniors. And I urge seniors to take advantage of this part of the 
Medicare program. In other words, get a checkup. When you sign up for 
Medicare, get the free checkup that will make it easier for docs to 
solve your--any long-term health problems you have.

[[Page 1009]]

In other words, the sooner you find out what you got, the quicker it can 
be solved. And by the way, that saves taxpayers money. When we can solve 
a problem early, it will save our taxpayers money. And so that's why we 
put preventive care as a part of Medicare. It's called ``Welcome to 
Medicare'' physical. That's what you--that's what you're notified. When 
you sign up, you get ``Welcome to Medicare,'' and then you go take your 
physical, which the Government pays for.
    I hope people are beginning to understand why that makes sense. I 
think it made sense, and I appreciate the Congress putting that part of 
the Medicare Modernization Act.
    Secondly, we provided discount cards for seniors. We said, ``Look, 
if you're somebody relying upon prescription drugs, here's a discount 
card.'' And a lot of seniors saved a lot of money. But what's taken 
place as a result of this law is we're replacing the discount card with 
a new prescription drug benefit as a part of Medicare. And that's what I 
want people to understand, and that's what we're talking about.
    This bill provides seniors with better choices. In other words, I 
like the concept of saying to a senior, ``If you want to sign up for 
this benefit, you can. If you don't want to, that's fine too.'' It's 
voluntary. Secondly, if you want to buy your health care through 
something like Medicare Advantage, we're strengthening Medicare 
Advantage plans for you. In other words, the more choices people have, 
the better off it is in the marketplace. That's what this bill does.
    This bill also will help those of you who are receiving prescription 
drugs from a labor union or corporate America, by helping those entities 
fulfill their responsibility to the contracts they made with you. In 
other words, it recognizes people are going to get their medicines in a 
variety of different ways. And so therefore, the bill strengthened 
options for people. And that's good.
    If you're--on the average, the folks who sign up for this 
prescription drug benefit are going to save $1,300 a year. For the first 
time in Medicare's history, there will be stop-loss, kind of 
catastrophic care. If you're paying--once you pay $3,600 in Medicare for 
prescription drugs, the Government picks up 95 percent of all the costs 
over the $3,600. See, that's important, isn't it? We don't want a system 
where if you're relying upon prescription drugs and your drug costs get 
out of control, it just wipes out a senior. So this is a plan that says 
for folks, ``Sign up. You get a good benefit.'' It will--it's, on 
average, $1,300 worth of savings, plus a stop-loss plan, catastrophic 
care, so that if something goes wrong, the Government steps in after 
$3,600 and pays 95 percent of the costs. It will bring people peace of 
mind, by the way.
    You know, one of the great complaints we heard about not covering 
prescription drugs is that oftentimes, people could get wiped out 
because of high drug bills. And this will give seniors ease of mind. 
That makes sense in a good retirement system.
    Let me talk about--and by the way, what I haven't really referred to 
is what happens to low-income seniors. And this is why we're beginning 
the dialog early. And the reason why we're beginning the dialog early on 
a Medicare plan that becomes available next November is because we want 
low-income seniors to fill out some paperwork to justify their 
participation in the program as a low-income senior. That's really what 
we're doing. That's why we're kind of starting here in June, because the 
plan for low-income seniors is a really good deal. I mean, it's a good 
deal for everybody, but it's a really good deal for low-income seniors. 
After all, the Government is going to pay over 95 percent of all 
pharmaceutical costs for qualified seniors. That makes sense, doesn't 
it? You don't want people choosing between medicine and food. If the 
health care system has modernized, why

[[Page 1010]]

not make the modern health care system available for all people, all 
seniors.
    And that's precisely what we're doing. This says, if you qualify, 
and therefore you've got to fill out some paperwork to qualify--
generally when people hear that the Government is saying, ``Fill out 
some paperwork to qualify,'' it makes people nervous. I think you'll 
find that the forms that the Government has designed to decide whether 
you qualify or not are pretty darn simple, particularly for Government. 
I mean, they are four pages, and therefore, it shouldn't frighten people 
to take a look at these forms.
    But I understand a lot of people who have retired aren't really 
interested in change at all. There's some people who feel that way. And 
therefore, one of the reasons why I've come to this center is to 
encourage caregivers and sons and daughters and community and faith-
based groups to help seniors understand, one, what's available in the 
new program, and, two, to encourage seniors to fill out the simple, 
four-page form so that they can take advantage of this good deal.
    And it's a good deal. This isn't political talk; this is true. And I 
encourage people to take a look at this program. Just ask the folks that 
have--we're about to ask some folks, by the way, about why this makes 
sense for people to sign up.
    I've come to Minnesota to begin an education process, starting--
right now the forms are going out, by the way, to help people qualify 
for this prescription drug benefit. Now, all people qualify for it, but 
if you happen to be low-income, you get 95 percent or more of the 
prescription drugs paid for by the Government. Starting October 1st, 
information about all the variety of plans will go out. People will then 
be allowed to start signing up for the new Medicare plan starting 
November the 15th. January 1st, the benefit kicks in. And you have until 
May 15th to sign up so you can get the good deal on the prescription 
drug plans.
    And it takes a while to get this to sink in. We've been having 
Medicare one way for a long period of time, and change isn't easy. So 
you're watching--what you're watching is you're watching the Government 
begin to try to change people's attitudes toward Medicare and to get 
them to take a look at this new benefit.
    Yesterday in Washington, I kicked the deal off with the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, and one of the things that I was pleased to 
see there at the Johnson building was the number of faith-based groups 
that were there, community-based groups. I just happened to meet some of 
the members of the Salvation Army, by the way, one of the great armies 
of compassion in the world. And so as this advances, and if you're a 
part of a faith-based or community-based program and you're interested 
in serving your community, find out how best you can explain what's 
going on to seniors. It would be a significant contribution, I would 
think, to the welfare of the society in which you live that this is a 
good deal, as to how to convince people to sign up for this good deal. 
This country can do a lot of amazing things when people put their mind 
to it, and this is a call, because by responding to the call, you're 
going to help make somebody's life a lot better.
    Now, Mark McClellan, he's--you've got 
to have a smart guy around you all the time, and he happens to be one. 
He's a Ph.D. Yes, he's got a Ph.D. and a medical degree. Now, for those 
of you who are interested to know how Government works, I want you to 
pay attention to this. See, he's got the Ph.D. and the medical degree, 
and I'm the C student. [Laughter] Notice who's the adviser and who's the 
President. [Laughter]
    Anyway, McClellan is a good man. He's 
from--raised in Texas, Austin, Texas. He is in charge of making sure 
that the Medicare bill we passed is fully implemented

[[Page 1011]]

and that people all across the country understand what's available. 
Mark, why don't you add some wisdom here.
    Mark B. McClellan. Well, you've 
already added a lot of wisdom, Mr. President.
    The President. He was wise to say that 
about the President. [Laughter] Go ahead, talk about the implementation 
plan and stuff, so people----
    Dr. McClellan. One of the things that 
I'm spending a lot of time on is going around the country for many of 
the meetings just like this that we're having today to help people find 
out about the new coverage. And there are two big phases in what we're 
doing, just as what the President was talking about.
    Right now we want to make sure people are aware of what's coming. 
There are a lot of people who have Medicare, a lot of family members of 
people with Medicare who don't realize that the Medicare coverage is 
starting on January 1st and that it's available for everybody, no matter 
how they pay for their drugs today.
    And we especially want to start early, as the President said, to 
reach people with limited means. We are providing some very 
comprehensive drug coverage for them. There's no premiums, no or little 
deductibles, and people will pay only a few dollars for their 
prescriptions. And we want to make sure they all take advantage of it.
    This is a real partnership effort, and it's because of organizations 
like the ones we're working with here, like the Social Security 
Administration, like our staff at the Center for the Medicare and 
Medicaid Services all around the country, and many of the 
nongovernmental groups that we're working with, that we think we can 
reach everyone so that they can make a confident decision about the new 
coverage that's coming.
    The President. Yes, I told Mark--I 
said, ``Look, your job is to make sure everybody understands what's 
available. And if I can help, I will.'' And so he's responsible, and his 
agency is responsible for getting the word out. And we're beginning to--
this is it. This is day two. You're right here in the beginning. I'm 
confident we're going to get significant market penetration when it's 
all said and done. I think people, when it's all said and done, are 
going to understand, but we need your help. In other words, if we rely 
only on the Federal Government to get out the word, it's not going to 
work. The Federal Government can help. We've sent out mailings thus far 
to--what have we done?
    Dr. McClellan. Working with Social 
Security, we've sent out mailings to close to--to millions of 
beneficiaries who are probably going to qualify for this extra help for 
people with limited incomes. And then we're sending out a lot of 
information to people who are helping educate seniors and helping 
educate the family members of seniors about the new coverage that's 
coming.
    So this is a very comprehensive grassroots effort. As we like to 
say, we're trying to reach seniors and the people who care about them--
where they live, work, pray, and play. And this goes for seniors all 
over the country. It goes for the people with a disability who are on 
Medicare and depend on Medicare for their medical care. And we're 
starting early so that we can reach all of them.
    The President. So in other words, we've had a mailing out--and by 
the way, if you've got a mom or a dad who may have misplaced their 
mailing or you didn't get your mailing, there's an easy way to make sure 
that the information that is coming out of Washington to help you gets 
to you, and that is to call 1-800-MEDICARE and ask for the application 
form. If you're a caregiver and you want to get on the Internet, 
medicare.gov will enable you to get these forms, get the information to 
the people. In other words, just because somebody got rid of the 
mailing--didn't open the mail right or lost the mailing, doesn't mean 
you shouldn't get the mailing. It's worthwhile, believe me. This 
information is important information to improving somebody's life.

[[Page 1012]]

    He talked about--what was that--it was 
kind of an alliterative phrase there--``play, pray, and''----
    Dr. McClellan. Live, work, pray, and 
play, Mr. President.
    The President. ``Live, work, pray, and play,'' good. Well, that's 
what happens here at Maple Grove Community Center, isn't that right, 
Kris? Thank you for having us. Kris is the 
senior--what are you? What do you do?
    Kristine Orluck. Mr. President, I'm the 
senior coordinator here at the Maple Grove Park and Recreation 
Department.
    The President. Good. It's quite a varied facility, isn't it? You 
said you go from pre-K to a senior center.
    Ms. Orluck. That's correct, from 
preschool to teen centers to senior centers.
    The President. Great. And tell me about--you develop--what's your 
job? What do you do?
    Ms. Orluck. What I do here at the 
community center is I'm in charge of developing the senior programs that 
happen around here. So it may be a fitness class. It may be a social 
recreation program, a trip. It may be an educational class, like a 
computer class, or a great decisions discussion group, or it's a 
wellness and health program, where we bring people in to educate them 
about various topics on wellness and health, and Medicare is one of 
those topics that we cover.
    The President. Now, you see why I've asked Kris to come up here. Anybody who's interested in doing 
their duty, working at a senior center, pay attention to what Kris is 
going to tell you. See, she understands if part of the deal is to 
educate people, there's no better subject than a modern Medicare bill 
that's going to help a lot of people with their prescription drugs.
    Kris and I were talking backstage. She 
is all fully prepared to use the time she has allotted with the seniors 
to say, ``Here's what's available.'' Isn't that right?
    Ms. Orluck. That's correct. We're 
currently working with the local Social Security Administration to 
provide education and also opportunities to register, so they'll be able 
to meet one on one with individuals and just come in as a group and hear 
about the changes and how it affects them and their----
    The President. There are a lot of senior centers all across America, 
a whole lot. And part of the effort to educate our seniors is to reach 
out to the senior centers. One of the reasons we used the senior center 
here is to say to folks who have got a senior center in Texas or 
anywhere else, ``Do your duty. Find out what we're talking about, and 
then educate people.'' And I'm confident that when the senior centers 
realize what's available and realize how easy it is to get information 
and how simple it is to pass on the information, that people across the 
country will respond to describe to seniors the new prescription drugs 
and give seniors the option, the choice.
    Listen, all we want to do is pass information so people can make a 
rational choice. If you're a son or a daughter, help your mom and dad 
make rational choice.
    I tried that on my mother, and it didn't 
work. [Laughter] And I bet it wouldn't work on you, right, 
Dorothy?
    Dorothy Bourgeois. It may. [Laughter]
    The President. Dorothy is living here. 
She's retired.
    Ms. Bourgeois. I'm retired for about 
10 years now.
    The President. Are you?
    Ms. Bourgeois. Yes.
    The President. And so you come here to the center?
    Ms. Bourgeois. Oh, I come here to the 
center sometimes, and I do some volunteer work here with Medicare.
    The President. Thanks for volunteering, by the way. How about that 
as an example. You're never too old to volunteer. In her case, you're never too young to volunteer. [Laughter]
    ``Welcome to Medicare'' physical. People understand that yet?

[[Page 1013]]

    Ms. Bourgeois. I think they're talking 
about it somewhat. And when I--working with the seniors in trying to 
help them to decide what insurance they need and so forth, that's one of 
the things that we cover.
    The President. Yes, you see, the way this is going to work is 
there's going to be a lot of Dorothys around. She's going to take the information that we provide--she's 
going to be the mentor. She's probably got a heck of lot more 
credibility than a lot of other people do with her buddies. And so she's 
going to look at the information, and she's going to sit down and say, 
``Take a look.''
    And if you want to help, become a Dorothy and explain to these 
people. First of all, you know, the main line of education--or the 
frontline of education is going to be sons and daughters. Do your duty. 
Help your mom and dad. That's what you're supposed to do. They helped 
you. Now you help them. And I think you're going to find you will have 
done a good service.
    Keep rolling. You're on a roll there.
    Ms. Bourgeois. Yes, I've enjoyed it. 
I've been doing it for about 6 years, so I do enjoy doing it.
    The President. Right. And you're beginning to learn of the new 
Medicare plan, I take it?
    Ms. Bourgeois. Yes.
    The President. Yes.
    Ms. Bourgeois. Yes, we're learning a 
lot about it, and we're starting to get questions on it now.
    The President. Yes.
    Ms. Bourgeois. Just recently.
    The President. And therefore, Mark's 
job is to make sure that people like Dorothy have got the answers to the questions. And if not, 1-
800-MEDICARE or medicare.gov will have the answers.
    Ms. Bourgeois. Yes.
    The President. Are you Internet savvy?
    Ms. Bourgeois. A little bit.
    The President. Yes, probably more than----
    Ms. Bourgeois. Not as much as I'd like 
to be.
    The President. Well, here's a challenge for you. Why don't we set up 
a little computer center here, you know?
    Ms. Bourgeois. She has one.
    The President. Oh, she does have one. [Laughter] So it's not 
her fault. It's yours. [Laughter]
    Ms. Bourgeois. I need a refresher 
course.
    The President. Yes, that's right. [Laughter] I think it's--I think, 
Dorothy, when you analyze the drug 
benefit, it's going to help everybody. You've just got to understand 
that. And it's particularly going to be beneficial for low-income 
seniors.
    You probably think I'm getting a little repetitive here. I have 
found in my line of work, you need to repeat things a lot so people 
listen. [Laughter] And you just keep saying it and saying it and saying 
it so people will take a look. This is an important benefit. This is a 
change--a positive change for Medicare. We've strengthened the system. 
We've modernized the system by making prescription drugs available for 
all seniors in a very cost-effective way but particularly for the lower 
income seniors.
    And one place where there are a lot of seniors that go is to the 
pharmacies. We've asked two folks who work for pharmacies to come and 
visit with us because I want to remind those in the pharmaceutical 
business, the disbursement business, the retail business, that it's to 
your interest to educate people on the drug plan available and that I 
think you have a duty.
    I want Steve Preston--I want to introduce 
Steve Preston.
    First of all, thanks, Dorothy. You did 
a fine job. Unless you got something else to day.
    Ms. Bourgeois. No, I'll let you do the 
talking.
    The President. Okay, thank you. [Laughter] Anyway--[laughter].
    Steve is--fair to say an entrepreneur? 
Small-business guy?

[[Page 1014]]

    Steven Preston. You could put it that 
way.
    The President. Yes, well, that's good. I happen to think it's a 
positive word.
    Mr. Preston. It is. I love it.
    The President. Yes. Small-business guy. Where do you live?
    Mr. Preston. Duluth, Minnesota. We've 
got----
    The President. Right, spent some quality time there.
    Mr. Preston. ----seven pharmacies there.
    The President. Seven pharmacies. Great. And you--well--speak. 
[Laughter]
    Mr. Preston. Okay. I'm Steve Preston. 
I've been a pharmacist for almost 30 years now. I've got seven 
pharmacies in the Duluth/Superior area. Six of them are retail. One of 
them takes care of nothing but nursing home patients. And----
    The President. Yes, and so you see people come to your counters----
    Mr. Preston. We see them every day.
    The President. Every day.
    Mr. Preston. Every day, yes.
    The President. And I thought you said something very compelling--
this isn't the first time I met Steve. I saw 
him behind stage. Anyway, it's--you said something very compelling to me 
about watching seniors struggle.
    Mr. Preston. We see them every day 
struggle with the costs and making choices as to how they're taking 
their medicines and skipping days and skipping--not getting their 
prescriptions at all. And it just drives us crazy that we've been at 
this point where we could never do anything to help them other than just 
cut our--to our costs. And so it's going to be wonderful that there's a 
program out there to help all seniors, let alone the ones that need it 
the most.
    The President. Yes, and this is--and so therefore, one of the 
reasons why I've asked Steve to come is that 
I encourage the folks at the pharmacies to get the information in hand 
to distribute to your customers. If you see somebody hurting, this will 
help them not hurt. This is a good deal. And again, I recognize that 
part of the problem we have is to convince people who don't really--some 
people don't want to change. I know that. You know, you kind of get set 
in your ways, and it's just kind of inconvenient to change. But in this 
case, take a look at the change. Take a look at this program because 
it's worthwhile. And as Steve said, I guess you see people having to 
make these tough choices.
    Mr. Preston. Yes, and our pharmacists are 
going to be very knowledgeable as to where to contact and how to get 
enrolled in this program. When the drug discount plan came up, we were 
instrumental in getting a lot of the people that really needed the help 
involved in that program.
    The President. Saved some money.
    Mr. Preston. Including my own father.
    The President. That's good.
    Q. And he----
    The President. By the way, let me stop you on that. ``Including my 
own father,'' I mean, that should be, you know, this is what we expect 
sons to be doing, isn't it, saying, ``Hey, Dad, it's an interesting way 
to make your life better.'' Sons and daughters must participate in 
helping their moms and dads or grandparents understand what's available. 
I mean, this is a chance to do our duty. I'm going to try to handle my 
mother. He handled his father. And so--[laughter]--keep rolling.
    Mr. Preston. And that wasn't always real 
easy with him, because I was sending him his prescriptions anyway, but 
he didn't want me absorbing the cost of them. It bothered him a whole 
lot.
    The President. Yes.
    Mr. Preston. And so when I enrolled him 
in the program, he thinks it's great now. Now he takes everything on 
time. In fact, he calls me now and asks me to make sure I send them 
because he's getting down to a week or two.
    The President. The drug discount card has worked for 6 million 
seniors. Now

[[Page 1015]]

there's about 42 million on Medicare. And so you can see the scale of 
work we've got to do. We've got to go from the 6 million to make sure 
this message gets to 42 million. That's why I'm asking for your help. 
That's why I'm asking for Steve's help. I see 
other pharmacists here. I want to thank you all for coming. This is a 
great chance for you, a really good opportunity to take the information 
and lay it out to your customers. I mean, not only will you make sure 
you've got a customer; you'll make sure you've done somebody a good 
service as well.
    Thanks, fine job. Anything else you want to offer?
    Mr. Preston. Not at all.
    The President. You've been a pharmacist for 30 years?
    Mr. Preston. Almost 30.
    The President. Yes, started when you were 12? [Laughter]
    Anyway, Tamera Shumaker.
    Tamera Shumaker. Yes.
    The President. Tamera, what do you do?
    Ms. Shumaker. I work at Walgreen's as a 
pharmacist also.
    The President. Pharmacist, right?
    Ms. Shumaker. That's correct.
    The President. Little competition here. Nothing like a little 
competition to keep the economy going, by the way. [Laughter] But you're 
also a caregiver for your mom, you told me?
    Ms. Shumaker. I am, and that's why I'm 
sitting here. I am 30 years old, and I have a mother that's going to be 
54 in a couple weeks. And she suffers from a mental illness, and so 
medications are a big part of her daily life. And I have been able, 
because there are so many available programs out there, I've been able 
to get her on disability, which is a great program. And with disability, 
she can be eligible for Medicare. And because she doesn't have the 
assets to pay for them, when this new program comes out in January, she 
will be getting her prescriptions free of charge, which is a nice burden 
taken off myself and my brothers and the rest of the family.
    The President. Yes, see, it's interesting. This program is obviously 
for older folks but also for the disabled as well. That's why 
Tamera is here, and her mom qualifies. Now, 
her job as the caregiver is to find all this information out, take the 
form--right? I'm kind of leading you along here.
    Ms. Shumaker. Absolutely. Well, it----
    The President. Not even a lawyer, and I'm leading the witness. 
[Laughter]
    Ms. Shumaker. Part of it is that when my 
mom gets forms that come in the mail and they're five, six, seven pages 
long, she becomes very overwhelmed very easily. And so immediately it 
usually goes into the trash, and she doesn't even remember that she's 
gotten the information. So I feel it's very important if someone can 
step up and help them through that process, because it's so overwhelming 
for them that it's a lot easier for me to come in, for me to go onto the 
Internet, which she wouldn't even know how to turn the computer on, but 
people to do that and get that information out there and get it set up. 
And it makes her feel really well, also, because she doesn't have to 
rely on us.
    The President. Yes, see, this is what it's going to take to get 
people to understand what's available, the spirit you've just heard 
here. You've got the community center; people come--people come to get 
exercise. They come to do all projects. One project that we're going to 
make sure that the community centers do is ``look at what's available'' 
project, the new Medicare project. I don't know what you call it, but 
just make sure it happens.
    Then we've got the volunteer. We got the volunteers, people who take 
time out of their lives to help somebody. No better way to help 
somebody, no better way to make somebody's life better than to find a 
senior and say, this is a--that doesn't understand the program, and say, 
``This is

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available for you.'' It's a fantastic opportunity.
    Then we've got the small-business guy who sees a lot of people that 
are going to benefit from this program. So he's now--he's not going to 
say, ``What can I sell you?'' He's now going to say, ``Here's how I'm 
going to help you. Here's what I'm going to do as a citizen who cares 
deeply about my community, how I'm going to help you.''
    And then we got the daughter, and sons and daughters--I keep saying 
this, I know, but we've got responsibilities in our society. Those of us 
who have been--who are coming up have got responsibilities to those who 
raised us, I think. A healthy society is one in which people assume 
responsibility, and there's no greater responsibility than loving your 
mom or dad. And the best way to love a mom or a dad is to learn about 
this drug benefit in Medicare and help them--help them apply for it, and 
you will have done your duty as well.
    I want to thank you all for coming. I hope you got the message. The 
message is, there's good help coming. The law has been passed. I proudly 
signed it. Starting October the 1st, the different programs available 
for seniors will become available. In the meantime, fill out a form to 
qualify for the low-income benefit which will then be available, 
starting January the 1st. These are a lot of dates, I know, but it's not 
all that many. November the 15th, the program opens for enrollment. You 
have until May 15th so you can get the discount on the drugs. And I urge 
you to pass the word, and I urge you to participate. And I urge our 
seniors in Minnesota and all across the country to make sure you take a 
look at this new Medicare bill. It's going to help your life a lot.
    Thank you all for coming today. I thank our panelists. God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 11:07 a.m. at the Maple Grove Community 
Center. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Secretary 
of State Mary Kiffmeyer of Minnesota; Mayor Mark Steffenson of Maple 
Grove, MN; and Lisa Jost, manager, Maple Grove Community Center.