On the recordJanuary 19, 2011
You may miss it in the rhetoric, but both parties agree the current path of Medicare threatens to bankrupt the country. Some parts of America are spending twice as much per Medicare patient as we spend in Portland, Oregon, for example, but deliver inferior care. We know what to do. This is why the reform act can give better care for less cost, but it's not guaranteed. The Republican plan would strip away the reforms, the protections and the cost savings. But this is not just an assault on new health care freedoms. It represents the triumph of politics over adult fiscal supervision. The Republican leadership doesn't just ignore, they discredit, the nonpartisan professionals who, for 36 years, helped keep politicians in both parties honest. Without this impartial referee, the long, difficult road to fiscal health becomes longer, becomes harder, and becomes less likely to be traveled.
