Medicare

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

November 05, 2009 -- THE PRESIDENT: Hey! Hello, everybody. Please sit down. Good afternoon, everybody. I wanted to come down and just talk a little bit about health care before Robert gives his regular briefing.

I am extraordinarily pleased and grateful to learn that the AARP and the American Medical Association are both supporting the health insurance reform bill that will soon come up to a vote in the House of Representatives.    » read more »

In Speech on Senate Floor, Udall Points to Colorado Example of Coordinated, Streamlined Care, which Saves Money and Emphasizes Ways to Keep Patients Healthy

November 5, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Mark Udall, delivered a speech on the Senate floor emphasizing ways health insurance reform would reduce wasteful spending and increase efficiency - putting the focus of the health care system back on patients where it belongs. The U.S. spends over $2 trillion per year on health care - nearly one fifth of the economy - yet between 30 and 50 percent of these dollars are not contributing to better patient health. That's unsustainable and unhealthy, Senator Udall said.    » read more »

A column by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill

November 4, 2009 -- Thousands of Missouri seniors, like my mother Betty Anne, rely on Medicare for their health care. However, if Medicare remains on the same course as it is today, it will run out of money by 2017 and seniors may be without coverage.

Additionally, without adequate reforms, Medicare is on track to cut payments to physicians by as much as 21 percent starting next year, which may cause some doctors to drop Medicare patients.

By rooting out more than $400 billion in identified waste, fraud, and inefficiencies, we can make sure Medicare remains solvent for years to come, ensure doctors are paid fairly so that seniors can keep their doctors, and not cut benefits for seniors.    » read more »

In Remarks, Bennet Tells Story of Colorado Man Denied Coverage Because His Wife Was Pregnant - Even Though She Had Her Own Insurance

November 5, 2009 -- Urging health care reform that provides stability for working families, Michael Bennet, U.S. Senator for Colorado, today spotlighted the story of a Coloradan who was denied health insurance coverage because his wife was pregnant, even though she had her own insurance. Bennet said the story was an example of the absurd waste of time caused by the health insurance system and the current lack of stability for Colorado's working families.    » read more »

Affordable Health Care for America Act holds massive benefits for rural Colorado

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman John Salazar released the list of benefits the Affordable Health Care for America Act is estimated to bring to the 3rd Congressional District of Colorado. The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on Thursday, October 29. The analysis was compiled from data by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Department of Health and Human Services, the House Committee on Ways and Means and the U.S. Census Bureau.

Last week, in a statement announcing his support for the health care reform bill, Congressman Salazar said:    » read more »

November 3, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. - Congressman David Price (D-NC) issued the following statement today supporting H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act:

Over the past few months, I have attended town halls and roundtable discussions, met with a wide variety of constituent groups, conducted two telephone town halls with hundreds of participants, and read thousands of letters and emails from Triangle residents about the complex issue of health care reform. I have heard a lot of different views on how to improve our health care system, but nearly everybody agrees on one thing: Maintaining the status quo is not an option.    » read more »

GOP proposal is a bailout for insurance companies, congressman says.

November 3, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) today said he was underwhelmed by the health care legislation advanced by the House Republicans as an alternative to the Affordable Health Care for America Act. The congressman pointed out that the historic effort of the past 10 months incorporates items that were proposed by Republicans in Congress.    » read more »

Introduces amendment to grandfather in current Medicare Advantage beneficiaries

11/04/09 -- Washington, DC – Congressman Ron Klein (FL-22) today introduced an amendment to the health care reform bill currently pending in the U.S. House, the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962). Klein’s amendment grandfathers in current enrollees in private Medicare Advantage plans to ensure that any future changes to the program do not impact the care they receive. This amendment marks another step in Klein’s fight to strengthen and protect Medicare for our seniors.    » read more »

Health Care Opinion Leaders Express Strong Support for Allowing HHS to "Fast Track" Payment Pilots and Negotiate Drug Prices

New York, N.Y., November 2, 2009—A vast majority of leaders in health care and health policy believe Medicare has been successful in providing access to care and stable coverage to the elderly and disabled individuals; however only a small percentage think the program has realized its potential to achieve other important goals, like using its leverage as the country's largest purchaser of services to control costs and promote a high performance health system.    » read more »

Puts Seniors’ Access to Care at Risk; AMA calls on Congress to permanently fix Medicare physician payment formula

Oct. 30, 2009 -- Statement of J. James Rohack, MD, President, American Medical Association:

“Medicare’s final 2010 payment rule confirms that in 60 days physicians face steep cuts of 21.2 percent – the largest payment cut since Congress adopted the fatally flawed Medicare physician payment formula. Access to care and choice of physician for seniors, baby boomers and military families is at serious risk – and Congress must fix the payment formula once and for all this year.    » read more »

Washington, Oct 29 -- In conjunction with comprehensive health reform legislation, House leaders introduced a bill that would permanently reform the Medicare physician payment system. The "Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act" (H.R. 3961) will repeal a 21 percent fee reduction scheduled for January 2010 and replace the physician payment formula with a more stable system that ends the unrealistic cycle of threats of ever-larger fee cuts followed by short-term patches. When considered in the House, H.R. 3961 will also include Statutory PAYGO legislation.    » read more »

October 16, 2009 -- WASHINGTON— Today, AARP and the American Medical Association (AMA) sent a letter to the Senate, urging Senators to pass S. 1776, the Medicare Physician Fairness Act, which lays the foundation for a new payment system to help ensure seniors' access to and choice of physicians.

If left unchecked, physicians face an unprecedented 21.5 percent cut in Medicare payment rates in 2010, with additional cuts in future years. These cuts will hurt older Americans who rely on Medicare and baby boomers who soon will.

Uncertainty about whether Congress will prevent the cuts has contributed to the decision of some physicians to stop taking Medicare patients, making finding a doctor increasingly difficult for millions of seniors in Medicare.    » read more »

October 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Committee on Ways and Means approved a procedural measure to send H.R. 3200, the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 to the House Committee on the Budget with reconciliation instructions. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) issued the following opening statement:

“I call the Committee to order for the purposes of considering a procedural measure to send the previously approved health reform bill to the House Budget Committee. Today’s vote is strictly procedural, it does not change the substance of the health reform bill and it does not indicate a change in process as the bill moves toward a vote in the House of Representatives.    » read more »

Lipinski Calls for Independent Analysis, Citing His Continuing Concern that Proposed Bills Won't Rein In Costs

October 13, 2009 -- Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-3) today criticized the lobbying group America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) for issuing a flawed analysis that concluded that the Senate Finance Committee's health care reform bill would result in a significant increase in insurance premiums.

But Congressman Lipinski remains concerned that the reform proposals under discussion do not do nearly enough to drive down the surging cost of health care and thus will not result in lower premiums.    » read more »

October 15, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12) today wrote Speaker Pelosi regarding the concerns of HIV and AIDS patients in health care reform. Holt, joined by 21 members of Congress, advocates that the final House health care reform legislation help close the Medicare doughnut hole that has prevented many HIV/AIDS patients from accessing life-saving care.    » read more »