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Obama Says U.S. Health-Care Legislation Will Strengthen Medicare Program
President Barack Obama said Medicare, the government health-insurance program for the elderly, got “good news” when a government report said it will remain solvent for more than a decade longer than previously forecast.
Obama, in his weekly address on the radio and Internet, credited the overhaul of U.S. health-care policy he pushed Congress to approve this year with helping to “preserve Medicare for generations to come.”
“The steps we took this year to reform the health-care system have put Medicare on a sounder financial footing,” he said. “Reform has actually added at least a dozen years to the solvency of Medicare, the single longest extension in history.”
A report issued Aug. 5 by Medicare’s trustees found that, as a result of the health law Obama signed in March, the program will run short of money in 2029 instead of 2017.
Obama cited other provisions of the health-care legislation such as financial aid for senior citizens to afford prescription drugs, new authority for the government to review and reject “unreasonable rate increases” and free preventative care.
“As reform ramps up in the coming years, we expect seniors to save an average of $200 per year in premiums and more than $200 each year in out-of-pocket costs, too,” he said.
Obama said his administration is also cracking down on waste and abuse in Medicare, and is moving toward a goal of cutting improper payments in half.
“We are no longer accepting business as usual,” he said.
Republican Address
In the Republican address, Representative Peter Roskam of Illinois said congressional Democrats are failing to take “decisive action” to help companies grow and hire new workers.
Roskam criticized a $26 billion spending bill to help state and local governments avoid layoffs as being a “political season payoff to union bosses.”
“Under Democrat leaders in Congress, spending has gotten completely out of control,” he said.
Republicans, Roskam said, are listening to American voters who say they are opposed to tax increases.
“At a time of serious economic challenges, massive new tax increases are a surefire way to stall growth and prevent businesses from creating jobs,” he said. “Ultimately, the key to improving our nation’s struggling economy depends on the strength and innovation of America’s private sector”
To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Johnston in Washington at njohnston3@bloomberg.net.
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