Frank Pallone: “I think it is really an ideological phenomenon that basically the Republican leadership does not favor Medicare or…”

“I think it is really an ideological phenomenon that basically the Republican leadership does not favor Medicare or Medicaid, and that is essentially because I think that they believe that whether it is for seniors or it is for low-income people, there really should not be a government-funded or run health care program. The bottom line is that these programs were established because we knew that the majority of seniors were not able to get health insurance. When Medicare was established in 1965, the majority of seniors did not have health insurance coverage. Certainly people who are eligible now for Medicaid who are very low income, there is no way for them to get health insurance coverage unless the Government provides a program like Medicaid. But what the gentleman was saying about how the Republican leadership is trying to use this Medicare trustees' report as a way to justify their radical changes, if you will, that they are suggesting for Medicare, is so true. I just have some statistics here that show that right now the Medicare trust fund actually has a $125 billion balance and there is no danger that claims will not be paid.”