Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act Of 2009
Floor Speech
Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act Of 2009
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Mr. DURBIN. It is interesting to me that under the McCain amendment, the first line in the amendment--the motion to commit--relates to Medicare Advantage. I used to work for an old fellow in Illinois politics named Cecil Partee, and Cecil said: For every issue in politics, there is a good reason and a real reason. We hear a lot of good reasons on the floor for this McCain amendment and the future of Medicare. The real reason is on the first line of Senator McCain's motion to commit. He says: Send this back to committee and don't touch Medicare Advantage.
I want to ask the Senator from Connecticut about Medicare Advantage, because some of the things I have read around the country about Medicare Advantage tell me this plan, run by private health insurance companies, costs more than basic Medicare. These companies promised us, when they got involved, they would show us how to run a health insurance plan. They would show us how to provide Medicare benefits and they would save us money. Some have. But by and large, if I am not mistaken, isn't the verdict in--a 14-percent increase in cost for Medicare benefits under this Medicare Advantage?
Mr. DODD. My colleague from Illinois is absolutely correct, it is 14 percent. In some States it is 50 percent more.
Mr. DURBIN. When we talk about saving over $100 billion in the Medicare Program over the 10 years, part of it is by saying to those private health insurance companies that are overcharging Medicare recipients, the party is over. The subsidy is over. We are going to make sure that every American who qualifies for Medicare gets the basic benefits, but we will not allow these private health insurance companies to get a subsidy from the Federal Government at the expense of Medicare and its recipients.
Mr. DODD. And then charging the other 78 percent of Medicare recipients to raise their premiums. That is the outrage of all this.
Mr. DURBIN. So the motive behind the McCain amendment is less about saving Medicare and more about saving a private health insurance program called Medicare Advantage.
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