For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 28, 2003
President's Radio Address
Audio
THE PRESIDENT: 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 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.
END
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