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Skriven 2006-03-14 23:33:14 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0603146) for Tue, 2006 Mar 14
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President Bush Participates in Conversation on Medicare Prescription Drug
Benefits
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 14, 2006

President Bush Participates in Conversation on Medicare Prescription Drug
Benefits
Ferris Hills at West Lakes
Canandaigua Academy
Canandaigua, New York


˙˙˙˙˙Fact Sheet: The Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit: Helping Seniors
and Reducing Costs
˙˙˙˙˙In Focus: Medicare

11:45 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Be seated. (Applause.) Thank you all very
much. Thanks for coming. Thanks for the warm welcome. Thanks for giving me
a chance to come and talk to you about an important issue for our seniors.

Before I get started, though, I do want to thank the folks here at
Canandaigua Academy for letting me come by to say hello. (Applause.) The
Assistant Principal, John LaFave, kindly greeted me behind stage here. As I
understand, some of the students are here in the room and some are
watching. I'm glad to provide you a convenient excuse to get out of class.
(Laughter.) I want to thank the Superintendent, Steve Uebbing, for greeting
me, as well.

For all the teachers who are here and are paying attention to this, thanks
for being a teacher. It's a noble profession. It's an important --
(applause.) It's really important. And speaking about teachers, I married
one. (Laughter.) She sends her love. Laura W. Bush is a unique woman who is
obviously a patient woman. (Laughter.) When I married her she was a public
school librarian who wasn't that much interested in politics. Now she's the
First Lady of the United States, and I'm proud to call her First Lady and I
love to call her wife. And she sends her love, too. (Applause.)

I want to thank Randy Kuhl. He served with distinction in the United States
Congress. He said, look, you've been in my district before; come back up
here if you want to be with some just good, down-to-earth people that care
about the future of the country. And one of the reasons I'm here is because
of Randy's invitation.

I also want to thank Congressman Sherry Boehlert, right next door. I
appreciate you being here. (Applause.) Mighty New York Yankee fan, I want
you to know. (Laughter.) Fierce baseball -- advocate for baseball. Plus
he's a good congressman.

I want to thank Antonia Novello. Dr. Novello, where are you? She's here --
oh, there you are. Good to see you. Appreciate you coming. (Applause.)
She's the Commissioner of Health for the state of New York. I'm honored
you're here. (Applause.) I'll tell old 41 I saw you. That's the number for
my dad -- see, he's the 41st President, I'm the 43rd President, so -- I'll
tell him I saw you.

I want to thank the Mayor who is here -- Madam Mayor, where are you? Thanks
for coming. Yes, I appreciate you coming. (Applause.) Thanks for your
hospitality. It's great to be in your city. I want to thank all the other
folks who are state government and local government.

Most of all I want to thank our panelists. There are different ways to
describe an issue that's of concern to the American people. And so one way
to describe the issue is to have others help describe it for you. And
that's what we're doing. This is an opportunity for me and others to share
thoughts about Medicare.

The role of government is to provide good health care for our seniors. We
made that commitment, interestingly enough, when Lyndon Baines Johnson was
the President. When I got to Washington I took a look at the Medicare
system to determine whether or not Medicare was providing excellent health
coverage. If you're going to provide health coverage for somebody you want
to make sure it works. I found a system that was old and stale. It really
wasn't a modern health care system. Medicine had changed; Medicare had not
changed.

For example, the government would pay $28,000 for an ulcer surgery for a
senior on Medicare, but not a dime for the prescription drugs to prevent
the ulcer surgery from being needed in the first place. There was a -- a
lot of times the cures for disease would lag behind the government saying
it's okay to provide that as a benefit. In other words, it was an old
system.

So I worked with the Congress and we've modernized Medicare, and for the
first time, seniors can now get a prescription drug benefit under Medicare.
And that's what we're here to talk about: the benefits of such a program;
the need for people to, at the very minimum, take a look to see whether or
not that program makes sense, and if it does make sense, to sign up on it.
You'll hear me make the case: It's a good deal. Now, don't take my word for
it. I would hope people would seek advice, seniors seek advice as to
whether or not it's a good deal. Twenty-six million seniors so far have
taken a look and said, I think it's worthwhile to sign up.

And so part of the -- the main reason I'm here is to talk about the
Medicare reform plan, the prescription drug benefit, all aiming to convince
people to the very minimum to take a look. I think you're going to like
what you see.

One of the things that was necessary in Medicare to make it work better was
to start exercising preventative medicine; to analyze and diagnose disease
early, before they become acute. Interestingly enough, in the new Medicare
reform law that I signed, for the first time we're beginning to screen,
offer screenings and a free physical for seniors when they sign up for the
program. And that's important. Part of making sure health care is modern is
to recognize that if you catch disease early, it makes it much easier to
cure the problem.

And so not only are we talking about a prescription drug benefit that's
important to make sure Medicare and medicine is modern, but we've now got
screenings and preventative care -- annual screenings and a "Welcome to
Medicare" physical. So if you're thinking about signing up, think about
having an additional benefit of having a screening or a physical. And
that's an important part of making sure that our systems are modern, and
government is fulfilling its responsibility to provide good, quality health
care for our seniors.

The benefit is really important because it makes sure that seniors have
choices, as well. See, I've always believed that if the consumer has got
more options from which to choose, it provides higher quality. I'm one of
these people that we ought to -- that says we ought to trust people, we
ought to trust their judgment. So one of the things about the reform plan
that went forward is not only does it provide a prescription drug benefit,
but it says seniors ought to have a menu of opportunity, different options
from which to choose to meet their needs.

And that created some confusion initially. And I knew it would, as a matter
of fact; I knew some seniors on Medicare really didn't want to be
confronted with any choice, and that the myriad of options would create a
little confusion to begin with. But when people have taken time to look at
the options and have sought help -- whether it be a son or a daughter, or a
community-based organization, or a faith-based organization, or
1-800-MEDICARE -- they begin to realize that maybe the system is geared
toward them. The more options a senior has to choose from, the more likely
it is that the benefit is going to be tailored to his or her needs. And
that's important for people to understand.

If you're a low-income senior, the government is going to pay over 95
percent of your costs. Low-income seniors must take a look at this deal.
I'm telling you, it's a good opportunity for you. You know, there was a
period of time when seniors had to choose between rent and prescription
drugs. And that wasn't right in our country. And this bill I signed is
taking care of that problem, so people don't have to make the zero-sum
choice. Prescription drugs has become an integral part of health care for a
lot of folks, as you know.

The competition is good for consumers; it happens to be good for our
taxpayers, too. One of the interesting things that has happened is, is that
because there are people saying, I can do a better job for you, if you're a
senior, the anticipated premiums for the drug benefit has dropped from $36
-- $37 a month to $25 a month in a six-month period of time. In other
words, people looked at the bill and they said, well, this is what we think
it's going to cost a senior for drug benefits, $37 a month -- not
low-income seniors, but seniors. And, instead, the cost is $25 a month.

The anticipated -- in Washington, you know, we spend a lot of time guessing
what something is going to cost. And the anticipated cost to the taxpayers
for this drug benefit is 20 percent lower in the first year than
anticipated. In other words, it matters when people have choice. It matters
not only for quality, but for price. The average senior on Medicare will
get a -- will see their prescription drug bills cut in half. If you're a
low-income senior, the government is going to pick up a significant portion
of your tab. If you're an average senior -- income senior, you're going to
see your drug bills cut in half. If you're a taxpayer, the anticipated
costs are significantly lower than we thought. It's working. It makes a lot
of sense.

Part of my mission here, as I said earlier, was to convince people to find
out about the program. If you haven't looked at the new prescription drug
benefit, do so. Call 1-800-MEDICARE, or go to medicare.gov on the Internet.
We're beginning to see some surveys from people who are actually using the
program, and what's interesting is a lot of the seniors are getting
information from the Internet. There's -- and you'll see it's
user-friendly. It's been designed to make it easy for the senior to take
advantage of this new program.

If you're interested in the program, get your son or daughter to help you.
And if you're a son or daughter, and your mom or dad is eligible for
Medicare, make sure you at least take time to give your parent the benefit
of finding out what's available. If you're an average-income senior, you're
going to get one-half of your prescription drugs cut. If you're a poor
senior, this government is going to pay over 95 percent of the cost of your
prescription drugs. It makes a lot of sense.

I called upon a fellow named Dr. Mark McClellan to join me in this effort.
He's here. That's him right there. He is a -- (applause.) He's a PhD, see
-- I'm a C student. (Laughter.) Look who's the President and who's the
advisor. (Laughter and applause.)

Dr. Mark is in charge of what's called CMS. He'll tell you what that means.
We use a lot of initials in Washington. The way I like to describe it to
you is he is in charge of making sure the Medicare reform plan is
explained, rolled out, and administered properly.

And so, Mark, thanks for coming. Welcome.

DR. McCLELLAN: Mr. President, it's great to be here.

THE PRESIDENT: PhD in what?

DR. McCLELLAN: In economics, and I'm a physician, as well.

THE PRESIDENT: See, he spent a lot of time in the classroom. (Laughter.)

DR. McCLELLAN: It's great to be part of the team, sir.

THE PRESIDENT: We're glad you're here. Tell people what CMS stands for and
tell them what your job description is.

DR. McCLELLAN: CMS is the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It's
the agency that oversees the Medicare program and also Medicaid. Overall,
we're providing health insurance for more than 90 million people. And this
is a very important year for us, as the President said. We're making some
major improvements in the Medicare program so that seniors will not just
think of us as the program that's going to pay the bills when they get
sick, but the program that's going to help them stay well and live a longer
and healthier life. And we're working with states like New York to improve
the Medicaid program for people with limited incomes, as well.

THE PRESIDENT: So we just cranked up. Anytime Washington passes a new law,
sometimes the transition period can be interesting. And so we had some
early challenges.

DR. McCLELLAN: That's right. In fact, I was just talking with Diane about
this beforehand. Diane is a pharmacist. You're going to hear from her in a
minute.

THE PRESIDENT: No, I'm the emcee. (Laughter.) You're the explainer.
(Laughter.) You know how these PhDs are, you know, they kind of --
(laughter.)

DR. McCLELLAN: That's right. Well, we had more than 20 million people start
in this program at the beginning of January. And January is always the
toughest time for pharmacies anyway; a lot of people changing coverage. And
some of the people starting the program didn't have all their information
in the computer systems, especially some people with Medicare and Medicaid
who had previously been getting their drug coverage from Medicaid. And we
saw some long wait times on the health lines for the pharmacies and the
health lines for beneficiaries.

But we went out, we talked to pharmacists like Diane. We went around the
country. Secretary Mike Leavitt from HHS, as well, was leading this effort
to find out what was working, what wasn't, and what needed to be fixed, and
we've been doing that.

* * * * *

THE PRESIDENT: How about the phone lines? People have --

DR. McCLELLAN: The phone lines are much better wait times. If you call
1-800-MEDICARE, that 24/7 help line that we make available so seniors can
find out exactly what this program means for them, your wait time now is an
average of two minutes or less. So you can get through very quickly and
find out what this program means for you.

THE PRESIDENT: So would you recommend people -- a loaded question -- kind
of leading the witness and I'm not even a lawyer. (Laughter.) Why would --
why should people sign up for this?

DR. McCLELLAN: Well, now is a really good time to find out about it. We've
got hundreds of thousands of people enrolling each week now, and we're
ahead of what I think is going to be a rush towards the end of April and
the first part of May as we approach the enrollment deadline. It's a
six-month period that people have to make a decision about the new
coverage.

People are finding that they can save typically 50 percent on their
prescriptions or more compared to not having coverage. And Consumer Reports
pointed out recently that if you're willing to look at generic drugs, or
other drugs that work in a very similar way to the ones you're taking now,
you can save 70 percent or 80 percent. And if you call 1-800-MEDICARE, go
to medicare.gov, or go to one of the many events happening all over the
country, including right here in Canandaigua, there are places to go to get
face-to-face help right here to find out about what this means for you. You
can save literally thousands of dollars on your drug costs, and you can be
protected for the rest of your life against high prescription drug costs in
the future.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, but describe that -- the catastrophic care component of
Medicare.

DR. McCLELLAN: Well, the drug benefit will, in most cases, start paying
right off the bat. Most seniors who have signed up are already saying
they're saving money with the program just two months into the benefit.
There is what's called catastrophic protection, as well. So if you have
very high drug expenses, your coverage is never going to run out. For
people who have higher -- relatively high incomes, if they spend $3,600,
Medicare will then pick up as much as 95 percent of all their subsequent
drug costs. So no matter what your drug needs are for the rest of your
life, you're going to be protected against very high expenses.

And, Mr. President, as you said, for people with limited means, about one
in three seniors is living just on a fixed income -- they get extra help,
so they pay, typically, just a few dollars for each prescription. It's very
important help.

THE PRESIDENT: People need to take a look. I get out of Washington, people
say, well, I'm not so sure we can trust the government all that much. Take
a look. One of the reasons I have come is to ask people who are eligible
for Medicare just to explore the options. It's a good deal.

For the taxpayers who are here, as well, we're doing an -- we're providing
an important service for our seniors. I repeat to you, the federal
government has made the commitment to our seniors for good, modern health
care. I happen to believe if that's the commitment, we ought to keep it.
And the bill that I had the honor of signing keeps that commitment.

And so, Mark, thanks for coming. I'm a results-oriented guy. When I heard
that it took a while for people to get on that -- call that number and
somebody wouldn't answer, I started asking, why? And they're solving it.
We're making sure this opportunity for our seniors is done in a
cost-effective, efficient way. We want it to be user-friendly for our
seniors.

Again, I repeat, I fully understand some people are perfectly content with
life the way it is and they're not interested in looking at forms and
opportunities and choices. I would urge you to get somebody to help you
take a look at the opportunities available for you.

Somebody who is helping people understand the opportunities is Susan
Wilber. Susan, what do you do? (Laughter.)

MS. WILBER: Well, I'm an A student, always was, so I became a health care
professional. (Laughter and applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Look, you don't need to rub it in, you know. (Applause.)

* * * * *

THE PRESIDENT: That's good. If you're a church or community-based group, or
a synagogue, talk to your -- to the folks who go to your facility and
encourage them to contact 1-800-Medicare, medicare.gov, Susan. I mean,
there's all kinds of people like Susan.

What have you found to be the response, initially, today? Give us a sense
for --

MS. WILBER: Initially, there was a lot of panic and confusion, a lot of new
information coming from all directions -- the newspaper, the television,
the mailings. I think that we're a strong health care system in this
community and that we're all well-connected as a health care network, so
people were very willing to bring their concerns to us and to ask for help.
And that's certainly a confidence that we've instilled in people. And I'm
very grateful for that opportunity.

But we've set up individual meetings, we've set up situations where we meet
with family members, we've done conference calls with families out of state
to help their loved one here. So it's really been quite a collaborative
effort to get people signed up.

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks. Thirty -- 26 million people have signed up. That
requires a lot of community effort around the country. And I want to thank
Susan and others who just make sure the opportunity is at least presented
in a way that people can make a choice. And the amazing thing about our
country is we've got a lot of really decent souls, like Susan, at the
community level who are very concerned about somebody else, that they want
to help somebody. And one way to help somebody is to let seniors know about
the opportunities available in this Medicare reform.

And you're signing up quite a few people, I understand.

MS. WILBER: We've had quite a few people sign up initially.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. How's it going?

MS. WILBER: It's going well. There was a little bit of confusion at first,
but --

THE PRESIDENT: But, I mean, you don't want to recommend somebody to sign up
and they say, why did you get me to sign up for this.

MS. WILBER: For the most part, it's worked very well. We've gotten some
excellent feedback from our customers.

THE PRESIDENT: Good. Thanks for being here.

MS. WILBER: Thanks for having me.

THE PRESIDENT: My call is, please help. I really hope a son or a daughter
takes time on behalf of their mother or father and get on the Internet,
medicare.gov, and take a look. You ought to do it. I think it happens to be
a duty. If your mother or father is not that interested in getting on the
Internet, get on with them. Walk through the steps and take a look at
what's available.

We've got with us Diane Lawatsch. Welcome.

MS. LAWATSCH: Thank you, Mr. President. I'm happy to be here.

THE PRESIDENT: You're gainfully employed?

MS. LAWATSCH: I am gainfully employed.

THE PRESIDENT: How? (Laughter.)

MS. LAWATSCH: Uh-oh. (Laughter.) I am a pharmacy operations manager for
Wegmans Food Markets. I've been a registered pharmacist for almost 18
years. And a pharmacy operations manager helps to oversee the operations in
pharmacy. I have four stores in this region and the Canandaigua store is
one of them.

THE PRESIDENT: Good. So give us a feel for how you view the Medicare bill,
how it came to be, your reaction. Obviously, you're very much involved in
prescription drugs.

* * * * *

THE PRESIDENT: Obviously, pharmacists have got a stake in this. I mean,
people show up at the counter and there's a lot of pharmacists around the
country who are saying, can we help you. It's, frankly, in the interest of
the pharmacist to give people the opportunity to get a very generous
prescription drug benefit from the government. I don't know if you've seen
attitudinal changes yet amongst the people using the program.

MS. LAWATSCH: Well, absolutely. We definitely see customers come in that
say, gee, I've never had coverage before, and now they have the coverage.
One of the things, too, that we did at Wegmans was we started over a year
ago preparing and investing in our people and putting our pharmacists and
our technicians through training programs. We had four different on-line
training courses so that they were prepared come January, and that helped a
great deal.

THE PRESIDENT: Good. Thanks. You're on the front line.

MS. LAWATSCH: Yes, we are.

THE PRESIDENT: So we've got Bob and Eleanor with us. Isn't that right?

MR. WISNIEFF: Yes, we're here.

THE PRESIDENT: So, in my family, the wife starts speaking first.
(Laughter.)

MRS. WISNIEFF: Okay, I'll go first.

* * * * *

THE PRESIDENT: I like the idea of somebody saying, here are three choices
from which to choose. See, if you give people an opportunity to choose, it
means they're more likely to be able to find something that meets their
needs. It's a different approach, isn't it? The older -- one approach is,
we'll tell you what you need; the government probably knows a little better
than you do, anyway, we'll think on your behalf. What this bill says is, is
that, let's have some options available so people get to tailor the options
to meet their needs. And what ends up happening is, is that there's choice.
When we trust seniors with judgment it helps on price and it helps on
quality.

Do you have anything to offer, Bob?

MR. WISNIEFF: Well, I think Eleanor has pretty much got the punch line of
my whole thing, so I'll have to be a bit of a Paul Harvey and say "the rest
of the story." (Laughter and applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Pretty good. How long have you all been married?

MR. WISNIEFF: Fifty-two years.

THE PRESIDENT: Fifty-two years? (Applause.) Fifty-two happy years, by the
way. Thanks for setting a good example.

* * * * *

THE PRESIDENT: The key is saving a little money in retirement. They're on a
fixed income. They've got now a prescription drug benefit. They don't have
to make the awful choice between food, electricity and prescription drugs.
And they're actually putting a little extra money in their pocket.
(Applause.) If that's true -- is that true?

MR. WISNIEFF: That's true.

THE PRESIDENT: Okay. If it's true, you ought to look at it. Senior citizens
not only here in upstate New York, but all across the country, ought to
look at this plan, or look at the opportunities. If you like it, sign up.
It's a good deal. If you need help, ask for help. If you want to find out
more about it, call 1-800-MEDICARE or get on the Internet, medicare.gov.

For the students listening here, one of my jobs is to help explain things
to the American people, explain why we make the decisions we make. Today
I've tried to explain to you why the Medicare system needed to be changed,
and some of the principles inherent in the change that benefits our
seniors. Part of explaining something is to have people who are actually
involved with the program, people that are helping to educate, people that
know something about the pharmaceutical industry, people who are benefiting
from the plan, to come and share their experience as well. And so I want to
thank you all for giving me a chance to come.

One thing I didn't say, I do want to conclude by saying, Dr. Steve Uebbing,
who is the Superintendent of Schools -- when I came through the line he
told me about his son, Daniel's service in the United States military. I
meant to thank a good, proud dad, but, more importantly, I want to thank
his son for volunteering to serve his country. (Applause.) For volunteering
to serve. And for the students listening, I urge you to find out a way to
serve your community. Mentor somebody, help feed the hungry, provide
shelter for the homeless. If you're interested in volunteering for the
military, that's one way to serve. Peace Corps is a fantastic opportunity
to serve your country. Being a teacher is a fantastic way to serve your
country. The strength of the United States of America is not the size of
our military, or the size of our wallets; the strength of the United States
of America is found in the hearts and souls of decent, honorable,
compassionate people who have heard a call to serve something greater than
themselves. (Applause.)

Thank you all for giving me a chance to come by. I ask for God's blessings
on you all, and on the United States of America. Thank you. (Applause.)

END 12:19 P.M. EST

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