[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 29 (Monday, July 23, 2001)]
[Pages 1043-1044]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

July 14, 2001

    Good morning. This week in Washington, we have turned our attention 
to the goal of better health care for all Americans. I have asked 
Congress to send me a strong Patients' Bill of Rights, one that provides 
immediate access to specialists and an immediate appeal to a panel of 
doctors when an HMO denies care. I hope to sign a bill that gets people 
help when they need it, not a bill adding hundreds of dollars to the 
high premiums they already pay.
    I am also asking Congress to join me in modernizing and 
strengthening Medicare. All of us, young and old, have a stake in the 
outcome of this discussion. From its beginning 36 years ago, Medicare 
has represented a basic binding commitment to our seniors. That 
commitment will always stand. And as medicine advances and the needs of 
our seniors change, Medicare must advance and improve, as well.
    The most pressing challenge is the lack of coverage for prescription 
drugs. To begin solving this problem, I am proposing a new national drug 
discount program for seniors. This is a straightforward, nonbureaucratic 
program which can be in place by January. Everyone in Medicare will be 
eligible for a drug discount card, costing no more than $1 or 2 per 
month. Present this card at a participating pharmacy, and you will 
receive a substantial discount--at least 10 percent. It's as simple as 
that, and it's convenient, as well.
    This program will provide immediate help to seniors without 
destabilizing Medicare's finances. Yet, my prescription drug plan is 
only a first step. We need broader reform to bring Medicare into the 
21st century. We need to expand coverage, improve services, strengthen 
Medicare financing, and give seniors more control over the health care 
they receive. And as Congress takes up legislation, they should be 
guided by some basic principles.
    First, for everyone in retirement or near retirement, any changes in 
their Medicare coverage should be up to them. No senior should have to 
accept something different if they like Medicare just the way it is.
    Second, all seniors should be offered a range of new Medicare plans, 
both Government and private. Every plan offered to seniors should have 
at least the same benefits as the Government plan. And all plans must 
offer prescription drug coverage.
    Third, everyone enrolled in Medicare should have the power to choose 
which plan works best for him or her. The plans will compete with each 
other, forcing them to offer better service, extra benefits, and lower 
premiums.
    Fourth, reform must provide special help to seniors with low incomes 
and unusually high medical costs. We must put caps on the amount any 
senior can be asked to pay in a year. And since the reformed Medicare 
will cover prescription drugs, low income seniors will no longer have to 
pay for costly Medigap insurance.
    And finally, we must strengthen Medicare's finances and make sure 
that the benefits promised to our seniors will be always there.
    Medicine in America is constantly improving, and Medicare must 
improve at the same pace. By these principles, we can assure that 
Medicare will always offer seniors the care they need with the quality 
they deserve.
    Thank you very much for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 11:21 a.m. on July 13 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on July 14. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
July 13 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office of 
the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this 
address.

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