Nancy L. Johnson: “I say to the President, ``Listen to our seniors.'' My seniors are being hurt by their Medicare+Choice plans leaving the…”

“I say to the President, ``Listen to our seniors.'' My seniors are being hurt by their Medicare+Choice plans leaving the market. They are hurt because through these plans they get better benefits than Medicare offers, and millions of seniors in these plans are sicker and poorer than most of our senior citizens and can't afford Medigap prices. You are closing down their plans, by having increased their reimbursements 2 percent a year for 3 years, and now offering 3 percent when costs are trending up at 8 to 10 percent, as well as giving every single Medicare provider a bigger increase. Your policy is simply forcing them out of the market. Mr. Speaker, I would say to the President that the plans have already left the less densely populated areas and in the next round are going to leave areas like New York City and its boroughs, leaving millions of seniors stranded. And, cruelly, these seniors cannot buy Medigap insurance either, because they cannot afford it or they would be excluded because of preexisting conditions. Mr. Speaker, I again say to the President, ``Mr. President, help our seniors by giving the managed care plus choice plans a decent increase this year. And next year, let us reform Medicare so that the benefits are better for all seniors and the reimbursements fairer and simpler.”