The following statement from Grace-Marie Turner, President of the Galen Institute, and Joseph Antos, Wilson H. Taylor Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, concerns the President’s remarks this week about Medicare. “President Bush’s Medicare proposal offers Americans real choices, not false promises. The President outlined an approach that will lead health care away from a system of price controls and bureaucratic rationing and toward choice, access, and competition. “However, partisan battle lines are now drawn in what will surely become the most critical debate over health care reform in modern political history, and we urge President Bush to remain steadfast in his efforts to reform Medicare in way that preserves a free and competitive market for health care. “The President put $400 billion on the table, proving that he is serious about providing generous and comprehensive coverage to seniors. The President deserves credit for acknowledging Medicare’s very real problems and for putting a truly new idea on the table, one designed to preserve and strengthen Medicare for the future. “The challenge will be to convince Congress to take this new road of modernization and not go down the tired and beaten path of more price controls, restrictions on access, and heavy-handed regulation that burden the program today. It’s vital that the president stick to his promise to put patients and doctors back in charge of American medicine. “While the details are sketchy, it’s clear that the president is prepared to take on the entrenched Medicare establishment and is ready for a real debate over the future of this program.” To arrange an interview with Grace-Marie Turner or Joseph Antos, please contact Adam Bromberg or Kelly Walmsley at 703-683-5004.
President Sets Stage for Sweeping Health Care Debate
The following statement from Grace-Marie Turner, President of the Galen Institute, and Joseph Antos, Wilson H. Taylor Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, concerns the President’s remarks this week about Medicare. “President Bush’s Medicare proposal offers Americans real choices, not false promises. The President outlined an approach that will lead health care away from a system of price controls and bureaucratic rationing and toward choice, access, and competition. “However, partisan battle lines are now drawn in what will surely become the most critical debate over health care reform in modern political history, and we urge President Bush to remain steadfast in his efforts to reform Medicare in way that preserves a free and competitive market for health care. “The President put $400 billion on the table, proving that he is serious about providing generous and comprehensive coverage to seniors. The President deserves credit for acknowledging Medicare’s very real problems and for putting a truly new idea on the table, one designed to preserve and strengthen Medicare for the future. “The challenge will be to convince Congress to take this new road of modernization and not go down the tired and beaten path of more price controls, restrictions on access, and heavy-handed regulation that burden the program today. It’s vital that the president stick to his promise to put patients and doctors back in charge of American medicine. “While the details are sketchy, it’s clear that the president is prepared to take on the entrenched Medicare establishment and is ready for a real debate over the future of this program.” To arrange an interview with Grace-Marie Turner or Joseph Antos, please contact Adam Bromberg or Kelly Walmsley at 703-683-5004.