Medicare

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ You know, let me remind you that every year, the Department of Health and Human Services sends out to Medicare beneficiaries a notebook explaining -- a letter, and sometimes it's actually a glossy booklet, explaining all the Medicare benefits for people who have just turned 65, who are about to enter the world of Medicare. ”

“ 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. ”

“ First, if you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, Medicare, Medicaid, or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have. Let me repeat this: nothing in our plan requires you to change what you have. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Now, because Medicare is such a big part of the health care system, making the program more efficient can help usher in changes in the way we deliver health care that can reduce costs for everybody. We have long known that some places, like the Intermountain Healthcare in Utah or the Geisinger Health System in rural Pennsylvania, offer high-quality care at costs below average. ”

“ About a third of the seniors will be eligible for a Medicare prescription drug benefit that includes little or no premiums, low deductibles, and no gaps in coverage. On average, Medicare will pick up the tab for more than 95 percent of the costs that low-income seniors pay for prescription drugs. ”

“ Using resources now available, I propose improving the Medicare and other Federal health programs to help those who really need protection--older people and the poor. To help States and local governments give better health care to the poor, I propose that we combine 16 existing Federal programs, including Medicaid, into a single $10 billion Federal grant. ”

“ An analysis of Medicare beneficiaries' access to medically necessary rehabilitation services, including the potential effect of the 75 percent rule (as defined in paragraph (2) ) on access to care. (B) An analysis of alternatives or refinements to the 75 percent rule policy for determining criteria for inpatient rehabilitation hospital and unit designation under the Medicare program, including alternative criteria which would consider a patient's functional status, diagnosis, co-morbidities, and other relevant factors. ”

“ As evidenced by Medicare, Medicaid, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the Federal Government plays a lead role in the health-care sector, both as a direct payer and as a regulator. ”

“ How other programmatic issues should be treated in a post acute care bundle, including rules specific to various types of post-acute providers such as the post-acute transfer policy, three-day hospital stay to qualify for services furnished by skilled nursing facilities, and the coordination of payments and care under the Medicare program and the Medicaid program. ”

“ The scope of coverage for home infusion therapy in the fee-for-service Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act, Medicare Advantage under part C of such title, the veteran’s health care program under chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code, and among private payers, including an analysis of the scope of services provided by home infusion therapy providers to their patients in such programs. ”

“ The benefits and costs of providing such coverage under the Medicare program, including a calculation of the potential savings achieved through avoided or shortened hospital and nursing home stays as a result of Medicare coverage of home infusion therapy. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ HIGH-RISK MEDICARE BENEFICIARY- The term `high-risk Medicare beneficiary' means a Medicare beneficiary who has attained a minimum hierarchical condition category score, as determined by the Secretary, based on a diagnosis of multiple chronic conditions or other risk factors associated with a hospital readmission or substandard transition into post-hospitalization care, which may include 1 or more of the following: (A) Cognitive impairment. ”

“ 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. ”

“ We have now incorporated almost every single serious idea from across the political spectrum about how to contain the rising cost of health care –- ideas that go after waste and abuse in our system, including in programs like Medicare. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Eliminating regulatory conflicts between rules under the Medicare and Medicaid programs. (6) Improving care continuity and ensuring safe and effective care transitions for dual eligible individuals. (7) Eliminating cost-shifting between the Medicare and Medicaid program and among related health care providers. (8) Improving the quality of performance of providers of services and suppliers under the Medicare and Medicaid programs. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Such report shall include recommendations on appropriate modifications to any adjustments in payments to providers of services and suppliers that furnish items and services in rural areas, together with recommendations for such legislation and administrative action as the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission determines appropriate. ”