Sherrod Brown: “the Congress is about to embark on major changes in Medicare. These reforms we will be considering will offer patients…”

“the Congress is about to embark on major changes in Medicare. These reforms we will be considering will offer patients less choice, not more, unless we take action to ensure that their choices are protected. Many of the so-called reform plans include efforts to increase the use of managed care for Medicare patients. A study released last week found that three-fourths of Americans age 50 and over said they would not join a Medicare managed care plan without the freedom to choose their doctor; 82 percent believe that the freedom to choose out-of-network physicians or specialists would be ``very important'' or ``critically important'' to their decisions about whether to join a Medicare managed care plan. The message is simple. Choice is essential to older Americans. A point-of-service option provides true choice by allowing Medicare patients to go outside of a network when they need services. This option should be built into every health plan involving Medicare patients. Madam Speaker, $270 billion in cuts in Medicare to pay for tax breaks for the rich is wrong. It is equally wrong to force America's elderly into managed care and take away their choice of physician.”