Ron Wyden

For the seniors who depend on the Medicare guarantee, that ought to result in better, more thoughtful health care.

It's important to build on the new Medicare payment system, and in my view the obvious place to start ought to be in the area of chronic care.

This was the source of endless uncertainty for health-care providers and seniors, and it's now in the dustbin of history.

There are big opportunities ahead to make substantial, bipartisan progress when it comes to protecting and updating the Medicare guarantee.

That strikes me as pretty promising stuff.

This is what comes up constantly with respect to the complexity and the burden.

We have a proposal now to better care for individuals living with dementia, which I know has been a longstanding commitment and priority of Senator Stabenow.

The bipartisan working group chaired by Senators Isakson and Warner has done the same as well, and I thank them.

75 percent deals with seniors who have four or more chronic illnesses.

93 percent of the Medicare spending deals with chronic illness.

This is not our grandfather's Medicare program.

This committee's leadership, in particular your focus on how we can best care for those with multiple chronic conditions, as Senator Wyden has discussed, has been instrumental in guiding us.

Medicare ought to be leading the way.

By finally clearing the decks of the SGR debacle, the Finance Committee has been able to get to work on developing legislation that will empower families and Medicare to manage and treat these debilitating illnesses.

Seniors suffering from these chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and stroke, now account for 93 percent of the spending in the Medicare program.

This was the source of uncertainty and frustration for health-care providers and seniors, and it has now been sent to the dustbin of history.

It is my view that there are big opportunities ahead to make substantial bipartisan progress when it comes to protecting and updating the Medicare guarantee.

I would ask for colleagues and staff who are here that any written questions for the record be submitted by Tuesday, July 12, 2016.

APTA would like to thank Chairman Hatch and Ranking Member Wyden for looking into this important policy issue.

We commend Chairman Hatch, Ranking Member Wyden, and all other members of the Committee on Finance for holding this bipartisan hearing.

We would like to reiterate our appreciation to Chairman Hatch, Senator Wyden, and the Senate Finance Committee for their work on this issue

Today the focus is on paying for the quality of care rather than the quantity.

Only Congress can remove those barriers.

The stakes here are enormously high, because what you are talking about is striking the right balance between encouraging these alternative payment models, which are so important in care coordination, and at the same time maintaining…

Some health-care providers in our country are concerned that parts of the Stark Law date back years or even decades and could be an impediment to treatment.