This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.

News Release

HHS SECRETARY TOMMY G. THOMPSON, AMERICA'S DOCTORS
TEAM UP FOR BETTER BENEFITS, MORE CHOICES IN MEDICARE

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson is sending the nation's top doctors on a cross-country "Better Benefits Tour" this week to promote the need for strengthening Medicare with better benefits and more choices, including coverage for prescription drugs and preventive care.

As America's leading health advocates, Secretary Thompson and the four doctors are emphasizing the need to complete work on Medicare legislation that strengthens the program with modern medicine delivered in a modern way. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Julie L. Gerberding, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Mark B. McClellan, and National Institutes of Health Director Elias A. Zerhouni will visit health care facilities in Columbus, Ohio, St. Paul, Minn., Kansas City, Mo., Louisville, Ky. and Pittsburgh, Pa., from Wednesday through Friday to further raise awareness for modernizing Medicare.

"We must keep focus on what is at stake here for America's seniors, which is nothing less than access to modern medicine with modern choices in how it is delivered," Secretary Thompson said. "Medicare is a caring program but it is stuck in 1965. We need to bring Medicare into the 21st Century with coverage for prescription drugs, disease prevention and disease management as well as protection from high out-of-pocket costs. America's doctors speak with the authority of having treated seniors and being the leaders of the government's four top medical and scientific institutions. They also know the importance of giving seniors more choices in benefits packages that best fit their needs."

The Better Benefits Tour takes place as the House-Senate Medicare Conference Committee continues to meet and develop a compromise Medicare bill that can pass both Houses of Congress and be signed by the President. The House and Senate passed separate versions of legislation in June.

The 10 million seniors without prescription drug coverage would be able to cut their drug bills roughly in half under either bill, according to an HHS analysis of the House and Senate legislation. Secretary Thompson said this savings, along with access to coverage for more preventive care and more choices in benefits packages, should provide a powerful incentive for Congress to come together on final legislation.

"The President has put forth an innovative and balanced vision for giving seniors better benefits and more choices, and we want to continue encouraging Congress in its work," Secretary Thompson said. "We need to finish the job. Seniors are tired of waiting, and with such substantive savings at stake, who can blame them?"

The President proposed $400 billion to modernize and improve Medicare. The framework he set forth would give all Medicare beneficiaries access to:

• Prescription drug coverage that enables seniors to get the medicines they need, without the government dictating their drug choices.
• Choice of an individual health care plan that best fits their needs -- similar to what Members of Congress and other federal employees enjoy today.
• Choice of the doctor, hospital, or place they want for the treatment and care they need.
• Full coverage for disease prevention such as screenings for cancer, diabetes and osteoporosis.
• Protection from high out-of-pocket costs that threaten to rob seniors of their savings.

The President also wants to make sure that low-income seniors receive additional financial assistance so they will not have to pay more to receive better benefits than they currently do under Medicare.

Dr. Zerhouni said the quality of health care for seniors is a primary concern for each of the doctors involved in the tour, so it is important for us to be involved in Medicare even though we have no direct oversight of the program.

"In June we heard directly from seniors about how important strengthening Medicare was to them, and as the nation's doctors we believe it is important to raise awareness about the need for the benefits of modern medicine in Medicare," Dr. Zerhouni said. "As a doctor it is imperative to me that we continue to make sure seniors in Medicare have access to modern medicine at an affordable cost."

Dr. Gerberding said she heard from seniors about the importance of disease prevention, which was good news as it is a major priority for the CDC, thus her agency is appreciative of the President's insistence on providing better opportunities for preventive care in Medicare.

"The seniors we talked with told us that preventative services were important to maintaining good health and they think having Medicare provide better coverage for such benefits would be important. Strengthening Medicare with better benefits for preventive care and disease management is overdue," Dr. Gerberding said. "Paying a relatively small cost for the prevention of disease makes much more sense than paying for the high costs of treating disease and its complications later. That's why these better benefits make sense for Medicare beneficiaries, for taxpayers and for the health care system."

The most fundamental better benefit being sought for Medicare is prescription drug coverage for beneficiaries, so they have affordable access to modern medicines.

"Seniors clearly understand the benefits of drugs that can more accurately and effectively target diseases and improve their quality of care and quality of life," Dr. McClellan said. "The FDA works hard to get safe, effective drugs to the marketplace for the benefit of Americans. We want to make sure that seniors can afford to reap the benefits of modern medicine."

During a similar tour of the country in June, the doctors heard from seniors that protection from the high costs of health care was important so they are not robbed of their savings by a lengthy hospital stay or particularly expensive medicines. This coincides with both the HHS position and the President's framework that provides opportunities to protect seniors from such costs.

"We heard stories from seniors who faced the prospect of high health care costs. Right now under Medicare, a lengthy hospital stay or the need to stay on expensive medication can devastate seniors financially, potentially wiping out a lifetime of hard-earned savings," Dr. Carmona said. "The President wants to provide protection from high costs to seniors in Medicare. As a doctor who has seen and treated catastrophic illness, I know this is an essential benefit. There's nothing more sad and discouraging than seeing a senior citizen financially ruined if they need expensive but life-saving treatments and hospital stays."

The President's framework seeks to also improve the way modern medicine is delivered to seniors. He wants to structurally modernize Medicare as well so that seniors have more choices in health benefits that best meets their needs. These would be the same array of choices in doctors, hospitals and benefits that America's four doctors have as well as all federal employees and members of Congress.

Secretary Thompson and the Surgeon General emphasized that greater choice is a fundamental priority for seniors in their health care. This would include, for example, allowing seniors to keep their popular PPO plan when they turn 65, rather than being forced into traditional Medicare.

The framework seeks to combine the best practices of the government-run Medicare program with successful components of the competitive free market system.

A report released this week by HHS' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention underscores the need for modernizing Medicare as America's population continues to age. The study showed that in 2001, the number of prescription drugs ordered for patients and the number of diagnostic and screening services performed rose significantly.

Specifically, the CDC's National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey showed that more than half (53 percent) of patients visiting the doctor in 2001 were over age 45, which compared to 42 percent in 1992. The number of people over age 45 rose 11 percent during the past decade; however doctor visits by that age group increased 26 percent during the same time period. In addition, physician office visits are becoming more medically complex with seniors and older baby boomers visiting the doctor more often to manage multiple chronic conditions, obtain newly-available drugs and seek preventive care.

The number of visits for preventive services such as diagnostic tests and screenings was up 28 percent, while the number of drugs prescribed for patients rose to 1.3 billion in 2001.

"This study is another indicator that we need to modernize Medicare. By keeping the existing government system, building on its strengths and incorporating the best ideas of the marketplace, we can create a modern and efficient Medicare program for the 21st century," Secretary Thompson said. "A program that gives seniors more choices in benefits that best meet their needs."

###

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Last Revised: August 13, 2003