WASHINGTON, Jul 22, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said
Wednesday healthcare reform would not mean benefits to the millions of elderly
patients who rely on Medicare would be cut.
"What it's going to do is to change how those benefits are delivered so that
they're more efficient," Obama said during a nationally televised news
conference.
He noted big pharmaceutical companies have already put on the table $80 billion
because they realize even more than that is wasted because of the way the
Medicare drug plan is administered.
The president also said lawmakers should vote annually on proposals from a panel
of healthcare experts that would make recommendations on improving care while
cutting costs.
He pointed out Republicans had backed such a panel in previous years. "The
problem is, every year, it would just go on a shelf and nobody would act on it,"
he added.
"So what we said is, 'Let's give that body some power. Let's require Congress to
vote on the proposals that they're making every year.' Congress can still reject
them, so it's not completely removing it from politics, but they have to reject
or accept it as a package. And that, I think, would incentivize and empower
important changes."
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