Bob Wise: “let us jump into this Medicare debate because I am fascinated to hear about my colleagues on the other side of the aisle…”

“let us jump into this Medicare debate because I am fascinated to hear about my colleagues on the other side of the aisle saying how they are saving Medicare. I say, ``Oh, don't toss me that life preserver if you're going to be the lifeguard, because let's talk about what they do.'' They say they are raising the amount over 7 years from $5,000 to $7,000 per beneficiary. What they do not tell us is that roughly it would be $8,400 under the present program, which means beneficiaries will be paying several hundred dollars more out of pocket. My colleagues may not call that a cut. I think they are going to call that a cut. They relax some of the restrictions on balanced billing. That means that doctors can overcharge, charge more than what Medicare will permit them to charge. They will be relaxed in certain instances. I do not think that is a big help. This is the same group that, if my colleagues remember, earlier wanted to relax Federal nursing home standards. We cannot have the Federal Government involved in that, protecting seniors, can we? So these are all issues. Incidentally, do we want this Medicare reform to really save Medicare? If that were the case, we need far less in Medicare reductions than what they are proposing. No; it is to pay for a tax cut for the wealthiest individuals in this country. That is not saving Medicare.”