Medicare Advantage

“ They also support allowing seniors to import safe prescription drugs from overseas, and will prevent pharmaceutical companies from blocking cheap and safe generic drugs from the market. Protect and Strengthen Medicare: Obama and Biden are committed to the long-term strength of the Medicare program. They will reduce waste in the Medicare system -- in part by eliminating subsidies to the private insurance Medicare Advantage program -- and tackle fundamental health care reform to improve the quality and efficiency of our healthcare system. ”

“ Patient safety programs, including provisions for hospital-based patient safety programs in contracts that the Medicare Advantage organization offering the MA plan has with hospitals.
` (v) Financial policies that promote systematic coordination of care by primary care physicians across the full spectrum of specialties and sites of care, such as medical homes, capitation arrangements, or pay-for-performance programs. ”

“ Our goal is health insurance everybody can depend on--comprehensive benefits that cover preventive care and prescription drugs, health premiums that don't just explode when you get sick or you get older, the power--no matter how small your business is --to choose dependable insurance at the same competitive rates that governments and big business get today, one simple form for people who are sick, and most of all, the freedom to choose a plan and the right to choose your own doctor.
Our approach protects older Americans. Every plan before the Congress proposes to slow the growth of Medicare. ”

“ Now, traditional care or managed care, every American deserves quality care. Millions of Americans between the ages of 55 and 65 have lost their health insurance. Some are retired. Some are laid off. Some lose their coverage when their spouses retire. After a lifetime of work, they're left with nowhere to turn.
So I ask the Congress, let these hard-working Americans buy into the Medicare system. It won't add a dime to the deficit, but the peace of mind it will provide will be priceless. ”

“ I propose catastrophic health insurance for everybody covered by Medicare. To finance this added protection, fees for short-term care will go up somewhat, but nobody after reaching age 65 will have to pay more than $500 a year for covered hospital or nursing home care, nor more than $250 for 1 year's doctor bills. ”

“ Providing a voluntary prescription drug benefit is only one of the challenges we must face to keep Medicare healthy for generations to come. We also have to increase payments to hospitals, teaching facilities, home health care agencies, and other providers, to make sure Medicare patients get high-quality care. ”

“ We’re making tough decisions to meet the challenges of our time. And as a result, Medicare is stronger and more secure. That’s important. Because Medicare isn’t just a program. It’s a commitment to America’s seniors: that after working your whole life, you’ve earned the security of quality health care you can afford. ”

“ Medicare is one of the most important and compassionate programs in American history. It provides medical care to the elderly and people with disabilities. It is a source of security and dignity for tens of millions of Americans. The health of America's senior citizens is one of America's most sacred obligations, and it is a commitment my administration will fully honor.
Yet we need to do more to fulfill Medicare's promise. Seniors should have affordable coverage choices that meet their needs. But Medicare does not do that. ”

“ Our nation has made a binding commitment to bring affordable health care to our seniors. We must honor that commitment by making sure Medicare stays current with the needs of today's seniors. When Medicare was launched 38 years ago, medicine focused on surgery and hospital stays -- and that is mainly what Medicare covers. Today, doctors routinely treat their patients with prescription drugs, preventive care, and ground-breaking medical devices -- but Medicare coverage has not kept pace with these changes. Our goal is to give seniors the best, most innovative care. ”

“ What is true is that every month, another 250,000 Americans turn 65 years old, and become eligible for Medicare. And we all deserve a health care system that delivers efficient, high-quality care. So to keep these programs strong, we’ll have to make smart changes over time, just like we always have. ”

“ Health care reform must begin with Medicare; Medicare is the binding commitment of a caring society. We must renew that commitment by giving seniors access to preventive medicine and new drugs that are transforming health care in America.
Seniors happy with the current Medicare system should be able to keep their coverage just the way it is. And just like you — the members of Congress, and your staffs, and other federal employees — all seniors should have the choice of a health care plan that provides prescription drugs. ”

“ These problems will not be solved with a nationalized health care system that dictates coverage and rations care. Instead, we must work toward a system in which all Americans have a good insurance policy...choose their own doctors..and seniors and low-income Americans receive the help they need. Instead of bureaucrats, and trial lawyers, and HMOs, we must put doctors, and nurses, and patients back in charge of American medicine.
Health care reform must begin with Medicare, because Medicare is the binding commitment of a caring society. ”

“ As a result, over 100 private plans have left Medicare, and millions of seniors have lost the valuable additional benefits that private plans provide.
We must act now to provide every Medicare member with more choices and more savings. Medicare needs a fair system of competition, a system that encourages additional benefits and options for better care at lower cost. Medicare is crucial to elderly Americans. I urge members of both parties to work together to protect and improve Medicare, and to maintain our moral commitment to millions of Americans. ”

“ To manage the risks associated with medical care—its high cost, its unpredictability, and its inevitability—most people in the United States obtain health insurance. Many (approximately 170 million in 2009) are insured by private insurance companies. Others, including those over 65 and certain poor and disabled persons, rely on government-funded insurance programs, notably Medicare and Medicaid. Combined, private health insurers and State and Federal Governments finance almost 85% of the medical care administered to U.S. residents. ”

“ Millions of Americans rely on Medicare in their retirement. And millions more will do so in the future. They pay for this benefit during their working years. They earn it. But with an aging population and rising health care costs, we are spending too fast to sustain the program. ”

“ This morning I'd like to give you a progress report on our fight against waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicare system.
Medicare is more than just a program; it reflects our values. It's one way we honor our parents and our grandparents and protect our families across the generations. This past summer we took historic action to strengthen Medicare by improving benefits, more mammograms, cancer screenings, major improvements in diabetes care, expanding choices for recipients in health plans, and extending the life of the Trust Fund to at least the year 2010. ”

“ On Thursday night, as a part of their bill to keep the Government going, both Houses voted a 25 percent increase in Medicare premiums for every single senior citizen on Medicare. That is an extraordinary act. No Congress in our history has ever demanded an increase in Medicare premiums as a condition of keeping the Government open. ”

“ This week I was honored to sign the Medicare Act of 2003, the greatest advance in health coverage for America's seniors since Medicare was founded nearly four decades ago. This new law will give seniors better choices and more control over their health care, and provide a prescription drug benefit. ”

“ In a Medicare system that reflects these principles, every senior in America would enjoy better benefits than they do today. And they would continue to benefit from the most important strength of American medicine: the ability to choose your own doctor. We want seniors and doctors -- not government bureaucrats -- to be in charge of the important health care decisions. ”

“ Fourth, health care reform is about keeping faith with those who came before us. We preserve and protect Medicare without reservation or exception. Older Americans simply must be able to continue to rely on Medicare and to choose their own doctor. We do want to cover prescription drugs under Medicare for the first time and provide the elderly and chronically ill children or disabled Americans of all ages the chance to get some long-term care in their home or in their community if they need it. ”

“ So they have to pay often more than $1,000 a year for additional coverage that can get them additional benefits and lower copays and deductibles. It's an illustration of the fact that a lot of seniors would like to see a more modernized structure in Medicare. ”

“ I urge Congress to make these investments and to give Medicare the authority to bid competitively for contractors who administer the program, as well as for services provided directly to beneficiaries.
Medicare is vital to the health of our Nation. It's too important ever to be compromised. If we take these steps to reform and strengthen Medicare, and if we modernize it with a voluntary prescription drug benefit, then we will adapt a program that has worked in the past to the needs of the future. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The Affordable Care Act has already helped secure Medicare’s funding for another 13 years. The Affordable Care Act has saved more than nine million folks on Medicare 15 billion dollars on their prescription medicine. ”

“ The President believes this fall will be a good opportunity for the Congress to take up his plan to improve and strengthen Medicare by giving seniors prescription drug coverage, as well as to put the Medicare system on more permanent financial -- a stronger financial footing, as is also clear in today's report in the Mid-Session Review. Medicare spends more money than it takes in. There is no Medicare surplus, and that's a problem for any senior citizen and particularly for middle-age people who will soon become senior citizens who want to rely on Medicare program. ”

“ With this new prescription drug benefit, Medicare will now help pay for the prescription drugs that can prevent serious illness. Seniors will get more choices and better treatment, and America will get a Medicare system to fit the needs of the 21st century. ”

“ Looking back over 1997, it's clear that we achieved major reforms of the Medicare system that will help Americans live healthier, happier, longer lives. This year's bipartisan balanced budget agreement reaffirmed our commitment to preserving and strengthening Medicare. We extended the life of the Medicare Trust Fund until at least 2010. We made Medicare protection more affordable for low-income Americans. We modernized the Medicare system by expanding choice, opening up competition, and controlling costs. ”

“ MR. FLEISCHERThe President believes that the best way to get health insurance to as many Americans as possible is through a combination of the successful private plans that have been working, particularly for people who are under 65, and by reforming and saving Medicare, so that people who turn 65 will have a Medicare program they can count on and rely on that includes prescription drugs. ”

“ As a result of the Medicare Modernization Act, our seniors have more choices to prevent, diagnose, and treat potential problems before they become worse. Medicare now covers preventive screenings, a "Welcome to Medicare" physical for new beneficiaries, and innovative programs to help seniors fight chronic threats. ”

“ My Medicare plan modernizes Medicare, increases the life of the Trust Fund to 10 years, provides support for respite care for the many families with loved ones afflicted with Alzheimer's, and for the first time, it would fully pay for annual mammograms. ”

“ No one creating Medicare today would even consider excluding coverage for prescription drugs. That's why we've proposed a comprehensive plan to provide voluntary prescription drug benefits that are affordable for all seniors, a plan that ensures that all Medicare beneficiaries, no matter where they live or how sick they are, will pay the same affordable premiums, a plan that covers catastrophic drug costs, a plan that is part of an overall effort to strengthen and modernize Medicare so we won't have to ask our children to shoulder our burden when we retire. ”

“ We have a tremendous opportunity to reform Medicare and help our seniors. The budget I proposed, and which the Congress passed, provides $400 billion in additional funds over the next 10 years to strengthen and improve Medicare -- so we have the resources to make reform work. We're also seeing a growing consensus -- in both houses of Congress and both parties -- that our seniors need a strengthened Medicare system that includes prescription drug coverage. The time is right to make progress. ”