Issues > Improving Medicare and Medicaid
No one party has the monopoly on good ideas, which is why I am working with members of both sides of the aisle to make these important programs stronger and more efficient so that they can continue to provide our nation’s most vulnerable populations access to the critical health services they need. We must close the gaps in our health care system and ensure that the poorest among us do not suffer the indignity and harm of losing their lifeline to health care services.
When you buy more of something, you ought to pay less. But that is not how things work when the federal government buys prescription drugs on behalf of 43 million Medicare beneficiaries. That is why I introduced legislation and supported H.R. 4, which would allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate a group discount on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries - just as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs does for our nation’s veterans. H.R. 4 passed with bipartisan support in the House in early 2007.
Physicians were scheduled to receive a 10% cut in their reimbursement for treating Medicare patients as of January 1, 2008. I was pleased that before the end of 2007, Congress, with my support, was able to pass a bill that will provide a small increase in reimbursement (0.5%) for treating Medicare patients over the next 6 months. I will continue to work to ensure that the proposed cuts do not go into effect because I believe they will present an access to care issue for many seniors who will be denied service from their physicians.
I know that many seniors value the choice in coverage provided by Medicare Advantage and are concerned about possible changes to the program. Please be assured that there were no cuts to the Medicare Advantage program included in the fiscal year 2008 omnibus appropriations bill.
I am very concerned that reductions in federal Medicaid funding, for example, will jeopardize the program's federal-state partnership and harm state governments, who are seeing more and more parents and children added to the Medicaid rolls or the ranks of the uninsured. We must, however, address our looming fiscal crisis before spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid bankrupts the federal government. We simply cannot afford to let partisanship stop us from addressing this important issue.
That’s why I became a cosponsor of the Securing America’s Future Economy (SAFE) Commission Act, which would create a 16-member, bipartisan commission tasked with holding town hall meetings around the country and subsequently drafting a plan to balance long-term spending and revenue scenarios for the nation.
There’s no doubt there will be tough choices to make, but we must deal with our fiscal realities in a frank and honest manner so that we can get back on the road to fiscal responsibility. The SAFE Commission Act takes the partisanship out of long-term tax and spending questions and puts them in the hands of a capable bipartisan commission.