Medicare And Medicaid Extenders Act of 2010

Floor Speech

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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, first of all let me say, as I did the other day, as you know, about a week ago we passed an extension to eliminate the cut in the SGR, the doctor's fix, until the end of this month. This bill before us today would take this for another year, until the end of December of 2011.

And at the time, the gentleman from California (Mr. Herger) also got on the floor and made statements which I think totally do not represent what we were doing. First of all, I would say with regard to the doctor's fix, nobody wants a 25 percent cut in doctor's reimbursement rate, and that is why we were here last week for the extension to eliminate that cut until the end of this year, and that is why we are today, to eliminate that cut until the end of 2011.

But the fact of the matter is it is the Republican Party and it is the party of the gentleman from California (Mr. Herger) in the House that refused to vote for a permanent fix when we passed it in the Democratic majority over a year ago. As I said that day, only one person, Dr. Burgess who is a physician on our committee, voted with the Democrats for the permanent fix. It is as a result of the inability and the unwillingness of the Republicans to do anything about this doctor's cut or reimbursement cut that we had to pass, I guess, five different short-term fixes.

Now granted today we are going to have a year extension, and I am certainly happy that the Republicans have agreed to a year extension, but they still have not come along to a permanent fix and they have not helped us in our efforts to achieve a permanent fix. So for the gentleman to suggest that somehow the Republicans have been helpful and they wanted to deal with this problem is, in my opinion, simply not accurate.

Now, let me dispel another thing. There is nothing in this bill that would in any way disrupt or repeal the health care reform, the landmark legislation that the Democrats passed again this year without any support from the other side of the aisle. If there was any remote suggestion that we were repealing or this was the beginning of the repeal, as the gentleman suggested, of the health care reform, not one Democrat would support that; and I certainly would not.

The fact of the matter is that the health care reform was fully paid for. And the fact of the matter is that it did not in any way affect Medicare beneficiaries. We actually improved benefits for Medicare beneficiaries in the health care reform. We basically filled up and eliminated the doughnut hole. We also provided more money for copays so seniors who are poor or lower income would not have to do copays for preventative care. And the list of additional benefits for Medicare beneficiaries under the larger health care reform goes on and on. I could list more.

So the suggestion that we somehow were cutting Medicare benefits is simply not true. The fact of the matter is that benefits were increased; the bill was paid for; and this bill today in no way takes away from that larger health care reform.

Now we have paid for the health care reform. We have paid for the doctor's fix for an additional year in this legislation by making sure that people who were going to get a subsidy and who didn't qualify would have to pay it back. That is the only change. That is the way it is paid for here today.

I just want to say, Mr. Speaker, this is a very important bill. It is a vital piece of legislation for America's seniors, persons with disabilities, and military families. Without this legislation, physician fees in Medicare and TRICARE would be reduced by 25 percent on January 1, just 3 weeks from now, and that kind of cut would threaten the ability of enrollees in Medicare and TRICARE to see their doctors. We can't allow that to happen.

As I mentioned before, we have passed some short-term fixes. This is another short-term fix. But, thankfully, it is at least for another year until we can work out a permanent solution. The Democrats already passed that permanent solution without Republican help; but, unfortunately, therefore, it did not become law and we will have to address it again.

The bill also provides help in 2011 to low-income Medicare beneficiaries in paying their part B premiums which are nearly $100 per month for many people. The legislation extends several important Medicare policies, including an exceptions process for therapy caps that allows Medicare beneficiaries to access medically needed therapy treatment. And it extends an important program that helps Medicaid beneficiaries work more hours without losing their Medicaid benefits.

It is completely paid for over 10 years. It moved through the Senate by unanimous consent. It is really not controversial at all, and so I urge Members of the House to vote ``yes'' on this bill that provides stability to the Medicare program.

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