Political Quotes

“I rise in support of S. 3018, the Beneficiary Access to Care and Medicare Equity Act, which was recently introduced by the Chairman and Ranking member of the Finance Committee. This act would provide more than $40 billion over the next 10 years to improve benefits for Medicare beneficiaries, guarantee that Medicare beneficiaries continue to receive the high quality health care they deserve, and increase reimbursements to Medicare providers. I would prefer that we address these issues as part of comprehensive Medicare reform, reform that includes a new prescription-drug benefit. Unfortunately, the process the Majority Leader used to bring a prescription drug benefit to the Senate floor guaranteed its defeat, and no drug proposal put forward won the 60 votes necessary for passage. While the Senate was unable to pass a prescription drug bill, we still have an opportunity to address other critical Medicare issues. And it is critical. In 1997, Congress passed the Balanced Budget Act. This act made significant cuts in Medicare provider reimbursements and implemented new payment systems. In many cases, these cuts made sense. However, in some cases they went too far.”