[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 27 (Monday, July 7, 2003)]
[Pages 836-837]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

June 28, 2003

    Good morning. This week the United States Congress passed historic 
legislation to strengthen and modernize Medicare. Under the House and 
Senate bills, American seniors would, for the first time in Medicare's 
38-year history, receive prescription drug coverage.
    We're taking action because Medicare has not kept up with the 
advances of modern medicine. The program was designed in the 1960s, a 
time when hospital stays were common and drug therapies were rare. Now, 
drugs and other treatments can reduce hospital stays while dramatically 
improving the quality of care. Because Medicare does not provide 
coverage to pay for these drugs, many seniors have to pay for 
prescriptions out of pocket, which often forces them to make the 
difficult choice of paying for medicine or meeting other expenses.
    In January I submitted to Congress a framework for Medicare reform 
that insisted on giving seniors access to prescription drug coverage and 
offering more choices under Medicare. The centerpiece of this approach 
is choice. Seniors should be able to choose the health care plans that 
suit their needs. When health care plans compete for their business, 
seniors will have better, more affordable options for their health 
coverage. Members of Congress and other Federal employees already have 
the ability to choose among health care plans. If choice is good enough 
for lawmakers, it is good enough for America's seniors.
    I'm pleased to see that Congress has accepted the principle of 
choice for seniors. Under the provisions of both the House and Senate 
bills, seniors who want to stay in the current Medicare system will have 
that option, plus a new prescription drug benefit. Seniors who want 
enhanced benefits, such as coverage for preventative care and a cap on 
out-of-pocket costs, will have that choice as well. Seniors who like the 
affordablity of managed care plans will be able to enroll in such plans. 
And low-income seniors will receive extra help so that all seniors will 
have

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the ability to choose a Medicare option that includes prescription drug 
benefits.
    My framework for Medicare reform also called for immediate help to 
seniors through a prescription drug discount card. And I'm pleased that 
both the House and Senate bills would make a discount card available to 
seniors. The card would help senior citizens by reducing their 
prescription drug costs, beginning early next year and continuing until 
the new prescription drug program under Medicare takes full effect in 
2006.
    The Congress must now pass a final bill that makes the Medicare 
system work better for America's seniors. This is an issue of vital 
importance to senior citizens all across our country. They have waited 
years for a modern Medicare system, and they should not have to wait any 
longer.
    Earlier this month in Chicago, I met Gene Preston and his wife, 
Dorothy. They spend about $300 a month on prescription drugs, and they 
do not have prescription drug coverage. Gene says, ``Everything is going 
up in price. Before, we could save a couple of bucks at the end of the 
month. But right now we're just holding even, if not going below even.'' 
When Congress completes its work, seniors like Gene and Dorothy Preston 
can look forward to better health care coverage and relief from the 
rising cost of prescription drugs.
    I appreciate the hard work of Members of Congress who have set aside 
partisan differences to do what is best for the American people. I urge 
Members to seize this opportunity to achieve a great and compassionate 
goal. I urge them to finish the job of strengthening and modernizing 
Medicare, so that I can sign this crucial reform into law.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 2:35 p.m. on June 26 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on June 28. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
June 27 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office of 
the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this 
address.