Ron Wyden

What this is all about is trying to balance two important priorities.

There is no question that you are going to bump up against some very significant challenges.

American health care is going to have a new focus: paying for the quality of care that our people receive, rather than the quantity.

Our country is beginning a major transformation in the way health care in America is paid for.

I am concerned that the Academy's review and the corresponding announcement failed to fully disclose or address important information related to potential conflicts of interest and bias.

The public expects governmental advisory committees to be impartial authorities when it comes to research and guidance on policy.

Absent reforms, this is going to continue--lots of cures, and a big question mark when it comes to access and affordability.

These treatments threaten to become a major strain on our health care programs, on insurers, and on family budgets across the country.

What underlies this debate, in my view, is the fact that the United States is in an era of miracle treatments and cures.

This has been something that has had support on both sides of the aisle for some time.

That program to provide more choices for older people, that was really born in this room.

Well, there were no death panels.

I think it would be very helpful if you could explain in something resembling English exactly how Medicare Care Choices works.

Your leadership and this committee's leadership on delivery system reform has been hugely important.

I thank my colleague.

Does this threaten the sustainability of the program for future generations, absent some reforms?

I care deeply about the 55-plus million Americans in Medicare, including my own mother, and I want Medicare to be around for my four children.

For so many older people, they just feel like they are getting hit by a wrecking ball.

This demonstration project has to be in sync with the effort Medicare is making to move towards paying for treatment based on value, rather than volume.

Protecting access is especially important in rural America, where seniors today so often face fewer choices and lower quality of care.

The fact is, too many seniors are getting pounded today by prescription drug bills.

Absent reform: lots of cures and a big, big question mark when it comes to access and affordability.

With business as usual, too many of these treatments are going to clobber too many family budgets and threaten health programs across the country.

The question for me, the foremost question, is whether or not the American people are going to be able to afford these medicines.

I have proposed legislation that would establish an out-of-pocket cap to help protect older people.