Chuck Schumer: “Senator Santorum has summed this up very well. We have a large number of senior citizens who have opted into a…”

“Senator Santorum has summed this up very well. We have a large number of senior citizens who have opted into a Medicare+Choice Program. The Medicare+Choice Program has been an experiment. Basically it said, let's let some providers, in this case HMOs, provide Medicare for senior citizens so they have an option to go into it. What most of these programs have done, frankly, is they made a sort of deal with senior citizens. They say you have to go to the doctors and hospitals that are a part of our plan. In that way, we will reduce costs. Then we can provide prescription drug coverage or other types of coverage for you. It has been quite popular in a good number of places, in my State as well as many other States. This program has had some trouble, there is no question about it. The reason is the cost of prescription drugs has gone way up. Health care costs have gone way up. As a result, many have pulled out of Medicare+Choice. Many seniors--not all but most of the seniors I know-- went into it so they could get some prescription drug coverage.”