Floyd Spence: “I rise in support of the Buyer amendment. Mr. Chairman, the Buyer amendment provides a reasonable expansion of Medicare…”

“I rise in support of the Buyer amendment. Mr. Chairman, the Buyer amendment provides a reasonable expansion of Medicare Subvention by adding up to 13 more hospitals to the 11 already participating today. It also provides 146,000 more retirees the eligibility to enroll in the program, where today we only have 30,000. What the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer) proposes fully complements the superb health care reforms contained in the base text of our bill. In addition to restoring the access of 1.4 million retirees to the prescription drug benefit they have earned, this bill provides a process by which a permanent, comprehensive health care benefit can be provided to Medicare-eligible military retirees. The Buyer amendment substantially advances that process. I am also swayed to support the Buyer amendment by the cautions raised by General Mike Ryan, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. He does not believe that the current Medicare Subvention program is sustainable fiscally over the long term. In my view, that serious caution must not be disregarded as we make decisions with regard to changes in the level and scope of medical benefits for our military retirees. I urge my colleagues to support the Buyer amendment.”