For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 13, 2001
President Calls for Modernization of Medicare
The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Baltimore, Maryland
Listen to the President's
Remarks
2:45 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very
much. Dr. Miller, it's my honor to be here in the number one
hospital in the United States -- (applause) -- to talk about an
incredibly important issue. And that's Medicare, and how to
make sure it's relevant as we head into the 21st century.
I want to thank you for giving me a chance
to come. I'm honored to be traveling today with Tommy
Thompson. I knew Tommy as a governor. I knew he'd
be a great Secretary of Health and Human Services and he's proved me
right. I appreciate you being here,
Tommy. (Applause.)
I want to thank Dr. Brody. I
want to thank Mr. Peterson. I want to thank Congressman
Cummings and Congressman Ehrlich for being here, as well. Mr. Mayor,
thank you very much for coming. I appreciate the baseball
bat with Cal Ripken's signature on it. (Laughter and
applause.)
I am so proud of the health care system of
America. We're the best in the world. We've got
the best docs in the world. We've got the best research in
the world. We've got the best hospitals in the
world. And I intend to keep it that way. It's
really important that our health care be responsive and innovative and
rewarding.
And there are some bills coming up in
front of Congress now that will help determine the course of
medicine. One is called the patients' bill of
rights. It's really important that we not have our system
ladened down by unnecessary lawsuits; that when we pass legislation we
keep patients in mind, and make sure patients have direct access to
specialists; and make sure patients have the capacity to take their
complaints to an independent review organization so that the complaint
can be remedied quickly, not held up in a court of law.
I think we'll get a pretty get piece of
legislation out. I certainly hope so, because it's part of a
reform process, all aimed at making our health care system focus on
patients and their relationship with doctors.
The big issue also confronting us is
Medicare. The other day in the Rose Garden I laid out a
Medicare set of guidelines, and I'm going to reiterate those here
today. But I started off my talk by reminding people that
another Texas President, Lyndon Johnson, started
Medicare. And he presented former President Harry Truman
with the first Medicare card, as he outlined the dream of Medicare.
And the truth of the matter is, Medicare
has met the goals of America. Seniors are better off as a result of
Medicare. But the problem with Medicare is medicine changes,
and Medicare has not. Medicine in the United States is
changing dramatically, and I witnessed firsthand some of the
fascinating technologies taking place in your eye clinic here; and
incredibly important changes when it comes to kidney transplants.
And, yet, oftentimes, as innovation occurs
in the health care area, Medicare is stuck in the past. It
won't change, because it's too bureaucratic. The other day I
said, you know, 1965 is when the program started, and even though a lot
of people think the 1965 Mustang was the best car ever made, it wasn't
very modern. And even though Medicare may be the best
invention of man, it's not very modern today.
And so, in the Rose Garden and here again
at Johns Hopkins, I call upon the Congress to work with the
administration to modernize Medicare, to make sure the Medicare system
reflects the great hopes and promises of the health care in the 21st
century. And what does that mean?
Well, it means, first and foremost, that
anybody who likes Medicare today can stay on Medicare; that if you're
happy with the Medicare system, getting up in your years, you're not
interested in change, that you should be allowed to stay in the system
as it is. In other words, no change, no threats, no
problems.
However, Medicare also ought to do what it
does for federal employees. The federal Congress ought to say if it's
okay for federal employees to have a variety of choices from which to
choose, so should America's seniors. If it's okay for people
who work for the federal government to be able to pick and choose a
plan that meets his or her needs, seniors ought to be able to do that,
as well.
So we need to bring new opportunities and
options into Medicare for America's seniors, all of which must include
prescription drug benefits; all of which must understand that part of
the innovation that has taken place in the medical arena has included
brand-new prescription drugs and new opportunities for people to have
prescription drugs, and prescription drugs needs to be an integral part
of Medicare -- not only the system that exists today, but whatever
options seniors choose to use in the future.
Thirdly, any good Medicare system will
create competition for service and will reduce premiums.
Fourthly, any good Medicare system must
have stop-loss insurance provided for patients. I mean, we
have a system today in Medicare where there's no telling how much
people pay, depending upon the complications on the
procedure. And that's not right. We need
stop-loss. We need to say to seniors there is certainty when
it comes to your Medicare bills. And that's not the case
today in Medicare.
And at the same time, we've got to
recognize we need to take care of low income seniors, as
well. There are going to be some seniors that simply aren't
going to be able to afford much. And our government must be
kind and generous in taking care of those seniors.
And, finally, this system needs to be on
sound financial footing. Trying to figure out Medicare financing is
pretty confusing for the layman. We've got one fund where everybody
says it's got a surplus. We've got a second fund that's in
significant deficit. And that kind of accounting has got to
stop. We need honesty in accounting when it comes to
Medicare, by combining both Part A and Part B into a unified trust, so
the American people know exactly what's happening in the Medicare
system.
Those are the guidelines I laid
out. Pleased to report to you yesterday in the Rose Garden,
there were some Democrat members, there were some Republican members,
and there was even an independent Senator. (Laughter and applause.)
This is an incredibly important
issue. Now, I understand politics pretty well, and I'm
afraid the American people do, too. They've seen what
happens with the Medicare issue. That's why, in the
political vernacular, they call it "Mediscare," because somebody who
comes along and tries to do what's right, will have the issue used
against them for political purposes.
The truth of the matter is, I'm not afraid
of the issue, because this is the right thing to do. We've
got a lot of baby boomers, like me, fixing to retire. And we
had better make sure we modernize the system, to make sure the system
is whole and sound for tomorrow's seniors.
But we also have an obligation for today's
seniors. And the idea that many seniors can't access the
latest technology -- many seniors on Medicare don't have the same
benefit that other seniors do in the private markets, got private
insurance -- just simply is not right.
And so it's time for the United States
Congress to set aside the kind of political bickering that tends to
dominate our nation's capital, and to focus on what's right for the
people; is to seize this moment before it's to late; to come together,
both parties coming together to modernize Medicare, to make it sound --
but also to make sure it's a compassionate system and one that works.
Health care is an incredibly important
part of our country. It's what sets America apart and makes
our land so incredibly unique. And those of us who hold high
office have the obligation to make sure the system works as best as it
possibly can.
I want to thank the docs for your hard
work and your compassion. My hope is that with proper
reforms, we'll continue to attract the best and brightest in our
society to the medical profession, so that doctors actually get to
preform their talent, as opposed to spend hours on paperwork; that you
get to spend more time in your offices, as opposed to the court rooms;
that you get to practice the medicine for which you've been trained.
I want to thank the folks here at Hopkins
for setting up a fine example for hospitals all across the
land. And I want to thank my fellow citizens for giving me a
chance to be the President of the greatest country of the face of the
earth.
Thank you for letting me come by, and God
bless. (Applause.)
END
2:55 P.M. EDT
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