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August 29, 2005
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
August 29, 2005
President Participates in Conversation on Medicare
Pueblo El Mirage RV Resort and Country Club
El Mirage, Arizona
 Fact Sheet: New Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit to Include Low-Cost Options
In Focus: Medicare
10:06 A.M. MST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks for
coming. As you can see, it's not going to be just me doing the talking
today. We've got some of your fellow citizens here to discuss how we
can make sure our senior citizens understand there's a fantastic
opportunity available for them in the improved Medicare piece of
legislation I signed.
Before we start talking about Medicare, I do want to thank the good
folks here at this center -- those who live here, those who are helping
the folks who live here -- for inviting us. It's not easy to have the
presidential entourage come. (Laughter.) I understand that. But at
least my entourage was spiced up by the First Lady is traveling with me
today. I appreciate you coming. (Applause.)
Laura and I are proud to be here. We're proud to be with Senator
Jon Kyl, who is a fantastic United States senator. (Applause.) I
appreciate you, Senator. We appreciate working with you and we
appreciate getting to know you. He brings Arizona values to Washington,
D.C. He's a good, down-to-earth fellow who cares about the people here.
(Applause.)
And speaking about somebody who does a fine job representing this
district, we're honored to be here with Trent Franks. Congressman,
thank you. (Applause.) And his wife, Josie. One thing about Trent
Franks, you don't have to worry about him telling the truth. He's a
good, decent, honorable citizen, and I'm proud to call him friend. I
want to thank you for coming, Congressman.
I want to thank the Secretary of State, Jan Brewer. Madam
Secretary, I appreciate you being here. (Applause.) And the State
Treasurer, David Petersen. David, thanks for coming. (Applause.)
There he is. I don't know if it helps or hurts, but he's from Temple,
Texas. (Laughter.) If it hurts, just forget it. (Laughter.) That's
right around the corner from Crawford.
I'm really honored that the Senate President is with us, Ken
Bennett. I'm honored you're here. And the Speaker is with us -- thank
you all for coming. I appreciate you coming. Good to see you again,
Ken. (Applause.) Speaker, appreciate you being here. I want to thank
the Mayor, Fred Waterman. Mr. Mayor, thanks for coming. (Applause.)
There he is. Phil Gordon -- Mayor, are you here? Thanks, Mayor, good
to see you. Proud you're here. (Applause.) Honored you took time to
come. And I want to thank Mayor Elaine Scruggs of Glendale, Arizona.
Appreciate your service. (Applause.)
When Laura and I landed, we visited with Ruben and Rita Carroll.
They work for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, the RSVP
Program. The reason I bring them up is that the great strength of this
country lies in the hearts and souls of our citizens. We got millions
of people across our country who volunteer to make somebody else's life
better. And it doesn't matter how old you are, or how young you are,
there's plenty of opportunity in America to volunteer. And here are two
citizens who are setting the way and getting a great example. Thanks
for coming, appreciate you setting such a good example for others.
(Applause.) Raise your hands so they can see you. There you go.
(Applause.)
I know my fellow citizens here in Arizona and across the country
are saying our prayers for those affected by the -- Hurricane Katrina.
Our Gulf Coast is getting hit and hit hard. I want the folks there on
the Gulf Coast to know that the federal government is prepared to help
you when the storm passes. I want to thank the governors of the
affected regions for mobilizing assets prior to the arrival of the storm
to help citizens avoid this devastating storm.
I urge the citizens there in the region to continue to listen to
the local authorities. Don't abandon your shelters until you're given
clearance by the local authorities. Take precautions because this is a
dangerous storm. When the storm passes, the federal government has got
assets and resources that we'll be deploying to help you. In the
meantime, America will pray -- pray for the health and safety of all our
citizens.
I also want to talk about immigration here in this state. I
understand the issue well. I was the governor of a border state; I was
the governor of the state of Texas. I know what it means to have a long
border with Mexico. And I understand the solemn obligation of the state
government and the federal government to enforce our border. I did so
when I was governor, and I'll work with your governor and governors
along the border to do so as the President of the United States. We
have an obligation to enforce the borders. (Applause.)
I understand it's putting a strain on your resources. We know
that. I don't know if you know this or not, but hundreds of thousands
of people have been detained, trying to illegally cross into Arizona.
In other words, what I'm telling you is, there's a lot of people working
hard to get the job done, but there is more we can do.
I spoke to Mike Chertoff today -- he's the head of the Department
of Homeland Security. I knew people would want me to discuss this
issue, so we got us an airplane on -- a telephone on Air Force One, so I
called him. I said, are you working with the governor? He said, you
bet we are. That's the most effective way to do things, is to work with
the state and local authorities. There are more resources that will be
available, we'll have more folks on the border; there will be more
detention space to make sure that those who are stopped trying to
illegally enter our country are able to be detained.
It's important for the people of this state to understand your
voices are being here in Washington. D.C. And this Senator and this
Congressman are working closely with the administration to make sure we
got the resources necessary to do our responsibility, which is enforce
this border. And we'll do so. And we'll do so. (Applause.)
I know you're concerned about gasoline prices, and so am I. We
finally got us an energy bill, and I want to thank the members here for
helping. You just got to understand that the situation we got ourselves
into, dependency on foreign sources of oil, took a while to get there,
and it's going to take a while to become less dependent. But this
energy bill means we've now got a strategy which will encourage
diversification away from foreign sources of oil.
And we need to do a lot of things. We need to encourage the
development of nuclear power. We need to continue to develop clean coal
technology so we can use that abundant resource. We need to have more
terminals so we can bring liquified natural gas from around the world
into the United States of America. (Applause.)
We will continue to use the crops in the ground to help fuel our
automobiles, ethanol and biodiesel. It's going to take awhile to get
diversified away from foreign oil, but thanks to members of Congress, we
got the bill passed after four years of debate, and now this country is
beginning the diversification process. There's no way -- I wish I could
just snap my fingers and lower the price of gasoline for you. The
markets don't work that way. I'd be snapping if I could do it.
(Laughter.) But we've got a strategy and a plan to help you.
I also want to talk about some hopeful events overseas. First of
all, I hope you've watched what has happened in the Holy Land. Prime
Minister Sharon made a courageous decision to remove settlements out of
Gaza. He said to the world, I'm going to give the Palestinians a chance
to develop a democracy. And the first step toward that democracy is to
give -- is to remove the settlements out of Gaza. It took political
courage to make that decision, and now it's going to take political
courage by the Palestinians and Prime Minister Abbas to step up, reject
violence, reject terrorism, and build a democracy. And the United
States of America stands ready to help. (Applause.)
And there's hopeful developments in Iraq. I know you see violence
on your TV screens, and it breaks my heart to see the death of innocent
life there. But that's the only thing the terrorists have got going for
them. They've got the capacity to shake our conscience, because, unlike
their ideology, we value every human life. Every person is precious.
I am very optimistic about Iraq, because, first of all, I believe
deep in everybody's soul is the desire to be free. (Applause.) Freedom
is not our country's gift to the world; freedom is an Almighty God's
gift to each person in this world. (Applause.)
My hopes for free societies, of course, were bolstered when eight
and a half million Iraqis went to the polls last January. I know it
seems like a long way away, but it wasn't all that long ago when you
think about it, they voted. And recently, instead of using guns to
decide the fate of the future, Iraqis from all aspects of their society
came together and wrote a constitution. This constitution is one that
honors women's rights, and freedom of religion. (Applause.) Not
everybody agreed with it, but now the Iraqi people get to decide. They
get to debate. They get to make the decision this fall as to whether or
not that constitution will be the constitution that governs their
society. And that frightens the terrorists. It scares them. They
cannot stand the thought of a free society emerging in the broader
Middle East. The free society is the exact opposite of their vision of
the world. If you want to think about the vision of these terrorists
and killers, just think about what life was like for young girls, for
example, under the Taliban in Afghanistan. There is no dissent, there's
no right, there is no freedom.
We are laying the foundation for peace. It's hard work. But I
want to assure you that for your -- the sake of your grandchildren and
your grandchildren's children, that this policy is laying that
foundation for peace, because we understand free societies are peaceful
societies. We will defeat the terrorists in the short run by staying on
the offense. We will defeat them in the long run by spreading freedom
around the world. (Applause.)
Not only did I sign an energy bill, I signed a highway bill.
That's going to be good for you if you've got a car. (Laughter.) I
also will continue to work on Social Security. I just want to make sure
the seniors here understand one thing: Nothing is going to change for
you. I hope you don't listen to all the politics coming out of
Washington, D.C., but you will get your check. You need to worry about
whether or not your grandchildren will get their checks.
This system cannot sustain itself the way it is now set up. We got
young kids working to pay payroll taxes into the system that's going to
be broke in 20 -- in 2040. And that's not fair, and it's not right. My
job is to confront problems, not pass them on to future Presidents. And
I'm going to continue to confront that Social Security problem.
(Applause.)
And we confronted a problem in Medicare. I remember the debate in
Washington. They said, well, you know, this is an entitlement. Well,
no, the entitlement has already been granted. This federal government
of ours decided to provide health care for our seniors. And, therefore,
my attitude was, if we're going to provide health care for our seniors,
let's provide the best health care available for our seniors. And one
of the things that the current system prior to our reform didn't do, it
didn't provide prescription drugs. Now, think about that kind of system
that was so antiquated and outdated that we would pay money for an
ulcer, but not money for the prescription drug that would prevent the
ulcer from occurring the first place. That didn't make any sense. We'd
provide money for the heart surgery, but not one dime of prescription
drug coverage for medicines that would prevent the heart surgery from
being needed in the first place. I always felt that wasn't a very smart
use of taxpayers' money. We'd pay the $28,000 for the ulcer, but not
the $500 for the medicine.
Secondly, we didn't do any preventative screenings in Medicare. A
simple proposition says that if we're going to help have somebody have a
healthy life, we ought to have a screening to determine what's wrong so
we can solve the problem early before it's too late.
Thirdly, we felt like seniors ought to have choice. The government
ought to trust people. The government, as you know, in Medicare, made
most of the decisions. This new bill I signed says, if you're a senior
and you like the way things are today, you're in good shape, don't
change. But, by the way, there's a lot of different options for you.
And we're here to talk about what that means to our seniors.
And, finally, a part of the Medicare bill that's very important for
younger workers and small business is what's called health savings
accounts. It's a really interesting option that if you're running a
small business, I urge you to look at to make sure that you've got
quality health care available for your employees.
This is a good bill. It started -- the bill started kicking in
last year when -- when we had what's called a "Welcome to Medicare"
physical. If you're -- if you've just recently signed up for Medicare,
you know what I'm talking about. There is a free physical available for
everybody who's signing up for Medicare. That's part of the
preventative screening. And by the way, prior to that, we had drug
discount cards for pharmacies. We saved a lot of seniors a lot of
money. About six million seniors took advantage of the cards.
What we're talking about today is new programs and plans with
prescription drugs becoming available for our seniors. This is as much
an education exercise as anything else, because I fully understand, and
our government fully understands, many seniors don't want to change.
They're not interested in change. And, therefore, what I'm telling you
is, is that at least listen to what's available. You don't have to
change if you don't want to, but at least be open-minded enough to
listen. And our panelists today are going to represent different
constituencies that will help seniors understand what's available.
By the way, starting October 1st -- we have a timetable, we got a
calendar. And I've got my man, McClellan, with us. He's a doctor, and
a -- Ph.D. See, every government has got to have a Ph.D, but you notice
who -- the Ph.D. is not the President. (Laughter.) That's the way --
kind of way it works. But he's going to help -- his job is to help make
sure seniors understand what's available. Starting October 1st, 2005,
Medicare beneficiaries start receiving information about available drug
plans. So this is a pre-selling phase. We're traveling the country.
I'm doing events like these, Mark is doing a lot of events like these,
the Secretary of Health and Human Services. We're laying the
groundwork. We want people to be prepared for what is available.
Secondly, on November 15th, enrollment starts. In other words, you
can start signing up. If you're unhappy with the current Medicare plan,
here's an opportunity to sign up for a new plan.
Thirdly, January 1st, 2006, prescription drug coverage begins for
seniors on Medicare. Think about that. For years, there has been no
prescription drug coverage. Starting January 1st of 2006, prescription
drug coverage is available, and you have up to May 15th to sign up. So
we're -- there's going to be ample time for people to take a look to
determine whether or not you want to change from your current plan.
There's 780,000 folks on Medicare here in Arizona. And one of the
reasons I have come is, hopefully, to get a message out to as many of
the 780,000 that I can. And by the way, we're leaving behind a lot of
folks who are going to help get out the message here in Arizona, as
well. If you got any questions, there's an easy way to figure out what
I'm talking about here. It's called 1-800-MEDICARE. Pick up the phone,
there will be somebody there to answer your question. Isn't that right,
Mark? Yes. (Laughter.) They don't want one of these checks in the
mail deal, you know. Or MEDICARE.gov.
The reason I'm telling you this, and I'm going to say it again
before I'm through talking, is that it's really important, for example,
for sons and daughters to look into what's available for the mothers and
dads, and one way to do it is to get on 1-800-MEDICARE, or MEDICARE.gov.
Seniors with no drug coverage and average drug dispenses will see
their drug costs cut in half by one-half. Think about that. This plan
will cut your drug bill by half. You need to look at it; you need to
look at what's available. And for the first time ever, Medicare has got
catastrophic coverage for our seniors. In other words, it says that
after you've spent $3,600 a year, the government will pick up 95 percent
of your prescription drug costs. And that's important. That's called
peace of mind. It's peace of mind for you; it's peace of mind for your
family. One of the interesting parts of this Medicare bill is the
catastrophic coverage, and that's important, I thought, for quality of
life. And so did members of the Senate and members of the House.
Competition works, by the way. If you've got one provider, the
federal government, it doesn't give consumers a lot of choice. But when
you provide consumers choice, it's amazing what can happen. People
start bidding for your service, so to speak. They want to attract your
business. And it's going to work in Medicare, too. Did you realize
that there's at least one prescription drug plan with premiums below $20
a month in every state now? Pretty good deal. And here in Arizona,
you've got two plans that cost $20 a month or less, and six plans at $20
to $25 a month. In other words, you've got people bidding for your
services. That's the whole purpose of the bill, is to say the consumer
matters, and our seniors matter a lot. And so you've got a lot of
choices.
You can pick any Medicare drug plan that meets your needs, and
there will be -- as I mentioned, here in Arizona, there's quite a few to
choose from. You can keep Medicare as it is. Do you realize about
200,000 citizens here in Arizona use Medicare Advantage plans, and
they're really important plans. It's all part of making sure there is a
menu of choice available for our seniors.
I want to talk about low-income seniors right quick. And by the
way, if you're getting your coverage from your labor union or your
business, this bill will help make sure that your labor union and your
business continues to provide health care for you.
I want to talk about low-income seniors, and this is very important
for people to understand -- that's why it's important for people to go
out and explain to what's available. One-third of our seniors, the
lower-income seniors, will be eligible for drug benefits that include
little or no premium. In other words, the premium I was talking about
was for people who are more likely able to afford a premium. If you're
a poor senior here in Arizona, you will end up with little or no
premium, low deductibles, and no gaps in coverage. It's a good deal, is
what I'm telling you. Let me put it bottom line: You need to look at
this plan. (Applause.) On average, Medicare will pay over 95 percent
of your costs for prescription drugs.
Now, here's what you have to do -- now, this may frighten some
seniors -- you got to fill out a form. It would frighten me. The good
news is, it's a simple application, and it's four pages long. If you
believe that -- well, it could be 40. (Applause.) Big print. If you
believe that you're eligible, you need to fill out the form. If you're
a mother -- I mean, if you're a son or a daughter, you need to get your
mom or your dad to fill out the form, I'm telling you.
And that's why we're traveling the country. This is a good deal
for our seniors. We have changed Medicare. We have done our duty in
Washington, D.C. We've upgraded an important program and made it
better. (Applause.) And part of the challenge is, it's one thing to
pass the law; that was challenging enough. But part of the challenge
now is to make sure the federal government, in concert with state and
local governments, as well as faith-based groups, grassroots groups,
community-based groups, the lobbying groups, whatever, all kinds of
groups, gets the word out.
I want to thank you all for listening, and expect you as good
citizens to help get the word out.
Now, the man in charge, I mentioned, is McClellan, Dr. Mark
McClellan. Told you he had a Ph.D., didn't I? He also has an MD. He
has got a big responsibility. He is the Administrator of the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Is that right?
DR. McCLELLAN: That's exactly right.
THE PRESIDENT: He's a Texan, which means he can get the job done
and will get the job done. (Applause.)
Explain how you're going to get the job done.
DR. McCLELLAN: Well, I'm getting a lot of help, and besides that,
we've got a chance now, with the new law that was just enacted, to turn
Medicare into a program, from one that just pays the bill when people
get sick to one that really helps keep them healthy, with drug coverage,
with the preventive benefits that you mentioned, Mr. President.
The thing is, speaking now from that medical background that you
mentioned, you can do a lot more to keep a patient healthy if they're
your partners in the effort, if they understand what they can do, if
they take steps in their own life to get better care, to take care of
themselves to live a longer and better life. And that's really what the
new Medicare program is all about.
When I say we're getting a lot of help, I mean we're turning
Medicare into a program that's really about partnership -- partnerships
with our beneficiaries to make sure their benefits stay up to date;
partnerships with health professionals and advocates and experts around
the country to make sure that people can get the assistance they need to
keep their coverage up to date; partnerships to make people healthier
and save money in the process.
THE PRESIDENT: To follow up on this low-income deal for seniors,
make sure that -- I need a second voice up here -- people say, of
course, he's telling us that, you know. I'm telling you, it's a good
deal.
DR. McCLELLAN: It is.
THE PRESIDENT: The doc's about to tell you.
DR. McCLELLAN: It is. I've had a chance to talk to a lot of
people around the country. I think some of the people up here on the
stage with us have had a chance to, as well. This coverage for people
with limited income will pay for, in most cases, all of the cost of the
premium -- so you have a zero premium -- no deductible, no gap in your
coverage, and you'll only pay a few dollars for each prescription, at
most three or five dollars, and in a lot of cases, less than that.
And people who may not think of themselves as low-income are
actually eligible for this extra help. Basically, if you're struggling
with paying for your drugs today because you're living on a fixed
income, you've got to worry about paying for the drugs, paying for your
rent, paying for your food, you should look into this program. People
with incomes in -- couples -- up to -- close to $20,000 are eligible.
And so about one in three seniors, Mr. President, as you said, one
in three people with disabilities are eligible for this extra help.
THE PRESIDENT: And what happens if somebody is interested and
calls the 1-800-MEDICARE line?
DR. McCLELLAN: Well, we can give them help in filling out that
form. We're working closely with the Social Security Administration, as
well. They sent out letters to everyone who they think may be eligible,
based on their Social Security earning. We're starting to get those
applications back in. And as you said, when in doubt, fill out the
application. If you can't fill out all the questions -- and it does run
four pages, but it is big type and it's only 16 questions altogether,
most people only have to answer 12 -- if there's one you get to that you
can't answer, that's okay, go ahead and send in the part that you can
complete, and Social Security will call you back and help you through
the other questions.
THE PRESIDENT: Great, thanks. Mark's doing a good job. Believe
it or not, the government is actually functioning in an efficient manner
on this issue. (Applause.) And I appreciate it. It really is. He's
the right man for this job.
Nancy Bryan. What do you do, Nancy?
MS. BRYAN: How are you doing today?
THE PRESIDENT: Good, pretty good. (Laughter.) If you like the
heat, I'm doing great. (Laughter.) Not exactly cool in Crawford,
either. (Laughter.)
MS. BRYAN: This is a dry heat.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, that's right. (Laughter.) So what do you do?
MS. BRYAN: I'm a pharmacists here in the valley, and I actually
work for Walmart and Sam's Club.
THE PRESIDENT: Good.
MS. BRYAN: What I do is I travel all over the valley filling in
when people need vacation time, or if they have a day off. And it has
been great because it gives me a chance to meet seniors from all over
the valley.
THE PRESIDENT: Right.
MS. BRYAN: In fact, I've been spending a little time up here in --
THE PRESIDENT: That's good. And are you aware of the Medicare --
have you been following what we've been talking about?
MS. BRYAN: Yes, I have. Walmart actually has put together a
program for all of their pharmacies, and they've actually been helping
to train us so that we know what to do when the patients do come into
us, we have information that we can hand out to them, that we can get
them to the people that can really help them the most.
THE PRESIDENT: Part of making sure the seniors know what's
available is to call on a lot of folks. The pharmacists around the
country have been really doing a great service for our seniors. In
other words, if -- point-of-sale marketing works. And so when you have
a senior coming to a counter, you're available, as are your fellow men
and women who work in the pharmacies, to explain, here's what's
available. Take a look at the Medicare plan. Isn't that what you're
doing?
MS. BRYAN: Exactly.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. It's a good deal. (Laughter.) And there's a
lot of folks making sure people understand. We fully understand that
some people are afraid to change. We know that. And you don't have to.
But I do want to thank the pharmacists, and I want to thank Nancy. I
want to thank Walmart. That's called corporate responsibility -- is to
help people understand what's available.
And so, what are you finding? Are you finding people are nervous
about it, interested about it?
MS. BRYAN: I think they're just wanting to know more information.
They're a little bit confused. They're a little bit nervous.
THE PRESIDENT: Right.
MS. BRYAN: And I think that they're just trying to figure out if
it really works for them. Is this the program that's going to really
help them?
THE PRESIDENT: And there have been seminars at Walmart to make
sure the pharmacists --
MS. BRYAN: Well, we actually have a continuing education system
for all the pharmacists.
THE PRESIDENT: Really? That's great. That's important, and there
will be pharmacists all around Arizona who will have the proper
information to explain to Arizona seniors the sign-up dates, what's
available, when you can enroll, when you can start getting your
prescription drugs. And that's important for people to know.
One of the things -- one of the reasons I'm traveling, one of the
reasons Mark is traveling, is to thank people for doing their civic
duty. So I'm going to start, thanking you.
MS. BRYAN: Well, thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate you. And another person I'm going to
thank -- good job. (Applause.)
MS. BRYAN: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Lieutenant Colonel Don Mowery. Is that right?
LIEUTENANT COLONEL MOWREY: Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, thanks for coming.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL MOWREY: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Of the Salvation Army.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL MOWREY: Thank you. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: The reason I asked Don to come is that throughout
this great state and throughout our country is this wonderful fabric of
faith-based organizations, all of which exist to serve their fellow --
fellow mankind. And the Salvation Army does a great job of doing that
by the way.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL MOWREY: Thank you, thank you very much.
(Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Have you ever heard of the Medicare reform plan?
LIEUTENANT COLONEL MOWREY: I have, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Other than this meeting?
LIEUTENANT COLONEL MOWREY: I have.
THE PRESIDENT: Good. How did you learn about it?
* * * * *
THE PRESIDENT: Well, this is an important piece -- this is good.
First of all, one of the reasons, again, I want to repeat, you've got a
lot of churches and temples and faith-based organizations and community
groups to help -- if you go to a church, do your duty and find out what
we're talking about, and help the seniors at your church at least
understand what's available. That's what the Army is doing. They've
got all kinds of programs at the Salvation Army, and they've taken it
upon themselves to say, as a part of their outreach to the senior
community here in Arizona, I'm going to learn what this is all about.
It is -- I appreciate you doing this, and thanks for setting such a
good example.
Now we've got Noreen Goodell. Noreen, thank you for being here.
What do you do?
MS. GOODELL: Becoming very nervous on stage. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: You don't look it, so don't let them know.
(Laughter.)
MS. GOODELL: I thought that was, don't let them see you sweat.
THE PRESIDENT: That's it. (Laughter.)
MS. GOODELL: I have the privilege and honor of being a registered
nurse, and I work for Sun Health Hospital.
THE PRESIDENT: Good, thank you.
MS. GOODELL: And I am also the caregiver for my parents, my mother
and father, and also my mother-in-law.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. This is an important -- everybody is
important up here -- Noreen represents a constituency group that I'm
going to keep calling upon -- daughters and sons, and daughter-in-laws
and sons -- we have an obligation, it seems like to me, and you're
fulfilling that obligation.
MS. GOODELL: I am, and I'm blessed for it.
THE PRESIDENT: There you go. (Applause.) So you heard about the
Medicare deal.
MS. GOODELL: I have.
THE PRESIDENT: And? How did you hear about it?
MS. GOODELL: Well, being a hospice nurse I deal with a lot of the
geriatric population in Sun City and Sun City West, and sometimes they
have questions about Medicare benefits, which we try our best to answer.
So I thought that it was important that I would try to look into what
benefits are available for them, and also my parents, as well, to make
sure that I can provide the best care possible and be their advocate.
THE PRESIDENT: Right. And is the schedule clear, the October 15th
-- the applications go out, the sign-up dates, the -- when it begins,
is that --
Q If it wasn't, it will be now. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: In other words -- (laughter and applause.) Did you
try 1-800-MEDICARE? (Laughter.)
* * * * *
THE PRESIDENT: Listen, Noreen is here, she's a nurse. But if
you've got a -- but she's also a devoted child. Baby boomers -- are you
one?
MS. GOODELL: Sandwich generation.
THE PRESIDENT: Sandwich generation, all right. I'm a baby boomer.
(Laughter.) All of us have a duty to find out what's available for our
parents. We have an obligation as somebody who received the benefit of
the love from a parent to do something to make sure our parents have got
all options available to them. If you're worried about change, you do
not have to change when it comes to Medicare. But if you're someone,
for example, who's having to struggle between food and medicine, those
days are over with. This Medicare bill relieves you of that burden and
that anxiety.
And sons and daughters have got to understand that. And you need
to find out what I'm talking about, for the sake of your parents. If
your mother or father says, I don't want to change, you don't have to
change. But as a son or a daughter, or as a faith-based initiative, or
as a nurse, or as a pharmacist, you have a duty, as far as I'm
concerned, to investigate what's available and to lay that out for
people to see. And that's what we're here talking about.
And somebody who's going to benefit from this is Margaret Cantrell.
That's you. Speak into that microphone, will you?
MS. CANTRELL: True, very true.
THE PRESIDENT: She told me she has the same hairdo as my mother.
(Laughter.)
MS. CANTRELL: The same color. It's the same color.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Three more years as President and I'll have
the same color you got. (Applause.)
MS. CANTRELL: Well, I'll be 82 years old.
THE PRESIDENT: When?
MS. CANTRELL: This coming Monday.
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, yeah, well, a little birthday celebration for
you. (Applause.) You're looking pretty darn good.
MS. CANTRELL: Well, thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: How you feeling?
MS. CANTRELL: Fair.
THE PRESIDENT: Fair. (Laughter.)
MS. CANTRELL: And I'm formerly from Salem, Illinois, which is Lisa
James' hometown, too.
THE PRESIDENT: Lisa James, very good, yes. Nobody knows who she
is except for me and Laura. All right, there's a couple others.
(Laughter.)
MS. CANTRELL: And I was a nanny for the James gang for quite a
while.
THE PRESIDENT: No wonder you got gray hair. (Laughter.)
MS. CANTRELL: And I do understand about the new program. I
received something from Social Security about two weeks ago. I
immediately filled it out and sent it back in.
THE PRESIDENT: Good move. How about that. (Applause.) By the
way, before we get to Medicare, this good lady lives on her Social
Security check.
MS. CANTRELL: I certainly do.
THE PRESIDENT: And she told me, she said she doesn't want anybody
taking it away from her.
MS. CANTRELL: That's true.
THE PRESIDENT: Isn't that right? It's not going to happen.
MS. CANTRELL: Oh, good.
THE PRESIDENT: That's what you've got to know. The Social
Security debate is one that causes people concern because they hear,
they're debating Social Security, they may change it, and I'm not going
to get my check. If you're born prior to 1950, you have nothing to
worry about.
MS. CANTRELL: I was. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: Who's writing your lines for you? (Laughter.)
MS. CANTRELL: I have my daughter -- I have just one daughter,
Vicki Kaylor, and my son-in-law, Gene Kaylor, and two grandsons, Steve
and David. And Vicki and David are with me today.
THE PRESIDENT: Fantastic. And so how did you learn about the
Medicare plan?
MS. CANTRELL: Well, I received it from Social Security.
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, that's right, you already said that.
MS. CANTRELL: I did. (Laughter.) And I'm on --
THE PRESIDENT: Laura said, always pay attention. (Laughter.)
MS. CANTRELL: I'm on a first-name basis with my pharmacist, and
he's very nice. And he sent me this little brochure so I'd know more
about it.
THE PRESIDENT: Good. Have you started studying the different
plans available yet?
MS. CANTRELL: No, I haven't gotten it yet.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, well, that will be coming your way. And
there will be a different variety of options, and I'm confident that
Vicki will help you -- you don't need help.
MS. CANTRELL: I filled it, she didn't even see it. I filled it
out and sent it back in. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: That's good. Not everybody is just going to fill
it out that way. That's what people have got to understand, that people
are going to need a little help.
MS. CANTRELL: But it was easy to do.
THE PRESIDENT: There you go.
MS. CANTRELL: Really.
THE PRESIDENT: She wasn't even prompted. That's awesome.
MS. CANTRELL: Nothing to it.
THE PRESIDENT: Did you get the four-page form?
MS. CANTRELL: I did.
THE PRESIDENT: Four pages.
MS. CANTRELL: Four pages.
THE PRESIDENT: Sixteen questions.
MS. CANTRELL: I didn't count the questions, but --
THE PRESIDENT: Big print.
MS. CANTRELL: Right.
THE PRESIDENT: That's good. That's good. (Laughter.)
Congratulations, you finally got a form to her. (Laughter and
applause.) If in doubt, fill it out. (Laughter.)
MS. CANTRELL: Right.
THE PRESIDENT: Isn't that it?
MS. CANTRELL: That's it.
THE PRESIDENT: See, it's really important for those of us in
public service to continue to do our duty to folks like Margaret, one,
to make sure the Social Security system is available, and it will be.
It's just -- just your great grandkids need to worry about it. I'm not
kidding you.
MS. CANTRELL: I don't have any.
THE PRESIDENT: Well -- (laughter.) You might.
MS. CANTRELL: I might.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, somebody else's great grandkids need to worry
about it.
MS. CANTRELL: Right.
THE PRESIDENT: Shhh. (Laughter.) You're younger, you better
worry about Social Security. If you're an older citizen, you don't have
to worry about getting good health care through Medicare anymore.
That's what we're here to talk about.
Margaret has shown -- says to me that, pay attention. That's what
she did. They got the form. Do people usually just throw away the
paperwork that comes with Social Security? Now, I know you don't -- not
the check, but I'm talking about the paperwork. (Laughter.)
MS. CANTRELL: No. No, I don't. I read it.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, good. I hope you don't either, out there. I
hope people take a look at that form and pay attention to it because it
has got valuable information for you. It means that the quality of your
life will improve if you're struggling with prescription drug coverage.
It means that this federal government has finally, after years,
modernized Medicare. And if you want to, you can be in charge. You're
in charge of the decision-making process. In other words, there's
options for you. It's your choice to make. If you don't want to do
anything, if you don't want to change at all, you don't have to. But
there are a lot more choices available for you. And if you're a
low-income senior, you got a fantastic opportunity to get prescription
drug benefits.
We don't want you choosing between your utility bills and your food
bills and prescription drugs. We want your quality of life to be great,
as great as possible. And this Medicare bill will help there.
I want to thank our panelists for being here. Thank you for what
you're doing. Thank you for your compassion. (Applause.) Thank you
all for coming. May the good Lord continue to bless our great nation.
Thank you. (Applause.)
END 10:50 A.M. MST
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050829-5.html
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