Political Quotes

“one of the enigmas about Medicare and why it has fallen so far behind other major health care plans, such as the one that the Senator and the Senator from Maine and I participate in, along with Federal employees--one of the reasons is the system was established in 1965 and has not been forced to defend itself by making those changes which are required to continue to be a modern health care system. It is not only the absence of prescription drugs but the whole array of preventive measures. You would be shocked and appalled to know that, for instance, illnesses such as prostate and various forms of cancer for females, as well as colon cancer, have only in the last few years been added to the list of preventive services available through Medicare, and that a long, long list of items continue to be uncovered. If we had had a requirement that forced us to periodically look at this program as we, for instance, are now looking at Welfare to Work, which in 1996 said after 6 years it had to be reexamined and reauthorized--we are going to do so, and I think it will be a better program because it wasn't on autopilot. It had some real thoughtful considerations, analyses and improvements.”