Health Care

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, if you like your current plan, it had better not be Medicare Advantage because the Democrat health plan proposal cuts $162 billion from that program for our seniors. The reason is twofold; they need cuts to pay for their new government-run health care program and they think insurers in the program are overpaid by 14 percent. Tell that to the 25 percent of seniors who are enrolled in the program nationwide. I guess they weren't included in the folks who can ``keep their plan if they like it.''

Perhaps the Democrats didn't look at the plus side of Medicare Advantage. Studies show that those in the program spend fewer days in the hospital and experience fewer readmissions. A study in California showed that those enrolled in Advantage plans spent 30 percent fewer days in the hospital and were 15 percent less likely to be readmitted to the hospital. I would say that accounts for a huge savings.

The Congressional Budget Office also says the Democrats' health care plan would increase seniors' Medicare prescription drug premiums by 20 percent over the next decade. I thought reform was supposed to be improvements, not a plan to soak our seniors.

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