Gilbert Gutknecht: “The reason that we have heard the harsh rhetoric that we have had for the last 3 or 4 months is not I think that some…”

“The reason that we have heard the harsh rhetoric that we have had for the last 3 or 4 months is not I think that some people fear that this reform plan is going to fail, I think they are afraid it is going to work, and that seniors are going to like it. The reason that they know it is going to work is because a lot of things that we are talking about in terms of reform are currently working in the private sector. Mr. Speaker, we are not reinventing the wheel here. Managed care and PPO's and HMO's and medical savings accounts are currently working. We saw a report on the news the other night, I think it was NBC, who talked about where some of these programs are actually being implemented, seniors love them. At my town meetings where we have had seniors who are already members of what is called Senior Gold out in the State of Minnesota that is sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield, they love it. I mean, where these things are actually happening, it has become very popular.”