Political Quotes

“Mr. President, first let me thank my colleague Senator Wyden for his extraordinary leadership on Medicare and Medicaid and so many other issues. I remember Senator Wyden in the House of Representatives as one of the champions when the Medicare and Medicaid Programs were a lot younger. We worked to improve and expand both Medicaid and Medicare, and now Senator Wyden, in a key role on the Senate Finance Committee-- the ranking Democrat--has been one of the real champions to protect the progress we have made in Medicare and Medicaid, recognizing that what we need to talk about is how to improve these programs and make them better. As we celebrate the 53rd anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid, let me address the point that Mr. Wyden made; that is, these are two of the most successful programs we ever have enacted in the Congress of the United States that guarantee, as Mr. Wyden has said, affordable, quality healthcare to our seniors, to individuals with disabilities, to low-income families. In Medicare alone, almost 45 million Americans are protected under Medicare--seniors and those with disabilities. In Maryland, more than 990 thousand Marylanders are protected under the Medicare Program. What Mr. Wyden alluded to--I want to underscore this point: Before there was Medicare, over half of our seniors did not have health insurance, and without health insurance, their access to healthcare was greatly at risk, and many were unable to get access to quality care.…”