[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 24 (Monday, June 20, 2005)]
[Pages 1012-1020]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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 be 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, 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

[[Page 1013]]

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--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. 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

[[Page 1014]]

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, 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 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.

[[Page 1015]]

    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 the 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 and that people all across the country understand 
what's available. Mark, why don't you add some wisdom here.
    Dr. Mark 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

[[Page 1016]]

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.
    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

[[Page 1017]]

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?
    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

[[Page 1018]]

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?
    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.

[[Page 1019]]

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 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.

[[Page 1020]]

    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 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 of Minnesota; 
Minnesota Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer; Mayor Mark Steffenson of 
Maple Grove, MN; and Lisa Jost, community center manager, Maple Grove 
Community Center.