Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I found the comments of the gentleman from California very interesting because many of us who support the Waxman amendment are strong supporters of 21st century Medicare that uses managed care to a much greater extent. In fact, in my community, we have one of the highest concentrations in the country of managed care participation. We have seen the future, and we know it can work. But the fact is that as part of that future, we should incorporate two principles that the Waxman amendment addresses. First and foremost, the Waxman amendment will protect the hundreds of thousands of older people in this country from rate shock. I have listened to my colleagues talk, for example, about how consumers are satisfied with Medicare slack. Of course they are, because many of them have had this product for maybe 18 months or so, under attained age pricing, and they have not seen the big rate hikes that are going to hit them down the road. Under the Waxman proposal, there is a floor of protection for older people from those rate hikes. I would urge my colleagues in the strongest way, the seniors of America do not know what is coming in the days ahead in terms of these rate hikes. The Waxman amendment offers some real protection.”