On the recordJuly 29, 1997
I could reassure Ruth at that point that we are going to save Medicare. We are going to put it on a sound financial footing by getting rid of the fraud, by getting rid of the excess payments, and by giving seniors more choice, so that if they want to keep Medicare exactly as it is now, they can do that. If they want to go into an HMO or some other managed care unit where they do not have to pay the monthly payment because they cannot afford it, they can do that. If they want to go outside Medicare and hire their own doctors and take out their own insurance plan, they can now do that with this bill. But we are going to make sure that senior citizens like Ruth and Lester McManis, my wife's grandparents, and senior citizens all over this country, are going to be able to count on Medicare being there so that they can have their health care needs taken care of.
Source
govinfo.gov
