David Thomas: “it is nice to be back and listening to the political rhetoric. I came to the floor because the gentleman from Washington…”

“it is nice to be back and listening to the political rhetoric. I came to the floor because the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) indicated that as chairman of the Subcommittee on Health I had not held a single meeting talking about making changes in the Medicare program. We have been holding hearings taking a look at current Medicare and trying to deal with the current issues. Just as at the end of the last Congress we made adjustments in home health, we are looking at current areas. Although I find it ironic, because I also was for a year on the Medicare Commission, and for want of a single vote, we had a plan which in fact took the government entitlement to standard benefit and blended it with the savings in the marketplace. It was a plan that was going to save a percent, a percent and a half in the outyears. It was a meaningful change. The President announced that none of his appointees were going to go ahead and support the plan, and he said he was going to offer a proposal. So it seemed to me, based upon his State of the Union message and based upon his going out the day the Medicare Commission voted on a very responsible plan, saying he was going to come up with his own plan, that I thought I would say, let us see it, Mr. President. Because what we did was guarantee Medicare, guarantee prescription drugs integrated into a program in a responsible way and expanding 100 percent coverage to the low and near low income up to 135 percent of poverty.”