Political Quotes

“Mr. President, you remember a year ago, before we passed the health care bill, everybody testified that Medicare was set to go into bankruptcy in 7 years? Do you remember back then, just a year ago, Medicare paid doctors when seniors got sick, and Medicare was focused on the quantity of care instead of the quality of care? Back then Medicare paid hospitals more if a patient got an infection that could have been avoided in the hospital, and they paid hospitals less if they avoided that infection in the first place because Medicare, whatever the cost was, paid it. And do you remember back then that doctors would perform the same test over and over for the same patient because they had not been encouraged in a law to work together and to share results? That is why a year ago we passed the Health Care Reform Act. Now that act extends the life of Medicare by 12 more years until at least the year 2029. Now, because of a change in that law, Medicare does not just care for people when they get sick, it is a more comprehensive health care system. Now the senior citizens receive an annual wellness visit. As part of the new Medicare law they can receive screenings and tips on how to manage or prevent conditions such as if they have diabetes or high blood pressure, and they do not have to wait until they get sick. In my State of Florida that is a lot of senior citizens. That is 3.2 million senior citizens.…”