Sam Gibbons: “First of all, this is a very important discussion. Let me say as one who was here, as the gentleman said, when Medicare…”

“First of all, this is a very important discussion. Let me say as one who was here, as the gentleman said, when Medicare was created, one of the unintended results that has come out of Medicare is that old age is now much kinder than it used to be. It is much more humane than it used to be, and Medicare itself has lifted millions of older folks out of poverty. But one of the unintended results that we never dreamed would happen is it has created in the American economy an infrastructure that can take care of the particular needs of old people. That is what has done so much. Medicare is going to have to make some changes to make sure that it is fiscally sound and in place for the people in the future. Those changes do not need to be radical. Essentially we need to get tough, effectively tough on cutting out the waste, fraud, and abuse. Then after we have done that, if there is any need to change the financing system, it should be changed. But we have a good program, it is very important that we maintain it, and it has really helped many millions of people in the United States.”