Bill Clinton: “Let me say, you know, I think we are getting close to agreement on the question of whether people should have more HMO…”

“Let me say, you know, I think we are getting close to agreement on the question of whether people should have more HMO choices available to them on Medicare and Medicaid but should not be forced into it. And I'm adamantly opposed to that, any kind of forced--but even if you do that, then you have a problem that we have to be very vigilant about, that Governor Chiles talked about, because the healthiest people which used to go into HMO's and get the best deals, and then the HMO's could then decline to take people who might need, say, the drug benefit. And then 3 years from now, we could be spending even more money on the program than we are now because we let the people that don't cost much go into HMO's and get the regular fee and then everybody else will be out there, we'll have to spend even more on them. So if this is not a--the HMO, it's a good option in many cases, if it's a well-run HMO. But it's certainly not a be-all and end-all to the problem of medical costs. [A participant voiced her support for Medicaid but stated that reforms must be made to ensure that the system would benefit those in need and that all programs should be monitored. Another participant then stated that, despite the belief of some people, elderly persons were not being selfish in their need for assistance. She also noted that the talents and capabilities of nurses were going unused in many hospitals.]”