GOP Doctors Caucus: Medicare Seniors and Obamacare

Floor Speech

Mr. GOSAR. Dr. Fleming, thank you so very much for organizing this hour and being able to have a fireside chat with the American public about health care and what really is coming about and what actually is going on with a broken health care system. I also want to take the time to educate, to understand--have the American people understand what it is about a vibrant economy that actually helps our Medicare system.

Now, I know the holidays are coming up and we're going to be discussing giving a continuation of a tax holiday for many Americans, about the thousand dollars for an individual on their FICA, on their withholding tax, and to employers; but I also want to take the time to explain to the American public that there is a cost involved here. And part of that cost when a withholding tax is taken out goes into Social Security and partly to Medicare, and part of this is particularly Medicare part A, the hospitalization act, which is the closest one to insolvency of all parts of Medicare.

Now, we lost 5 years, particularly on Medicare part A, the hospitalization act, just from the years of 2010. We have yet to start looking at the disastrous parts of the economy to 2011 to be added into the insolvency. But what ends up happening is this takes a further hit in the numbers and amount of money that is actually part of the equation for our seniors in Medicare, so it's going to get worse before it gets better. And when you couple that with this administration taking--I call it stealing--over $500 billion away from the current Medicare program to build another entitlement, that's just not right.

I came into Congress because I was concerned about health care. As a dentist, I love seeing a smiling face, because a smiling face tells me something about vibrancy, about health, and participating in the greatest things that this life gives us. But it also tells me that it has to be a participating sport and that what we have to have is a patient taking care of and being involved actively in the choices and decision processes in their health care, and that's what I want to see.

I'm flabbergasted, to be honest with you, that we see a program rectifying Medicare, or attempting to, through ObamaCare, but then we leave the SGR fix or the physician fix completely separate. It doesn't make sense to the average person why these aren't all integrated and part of the same equation.

I also want to remind the American people, this is not an easy solution. We didn't get here overnight, because we didn't do our due diligence like we had talked about earlier. We didn't change with the times as we grew older. We changed our participation and age and the variables that we had.

We also enveloped technology, unbelievable things that no one in 1965 could have even imagined, they could have dreamed but couldn't have actually imagined. And that's what the other part is is that we also have to look--I come from a very rural district, and what is happening back in my neck of the woods is the primary care doc who was that gatekeeper, they're no longer around. They either are associated with a hospital or a federally qualified health center--if you can get them to see you. And that's the part that also makes me tell the American public we have got another problem.

You were involved in this Joint Committee that had Democrats and Republicans, 12 of them, trying to figure out some type of a debt solution for $1.2 trillion.

I want to remind the American people there's another consequence in this, not only to our military, but to our health care providers as well, because the sequestration, when it goes through, is also going to tap, once again, the providers who are no longer being able to afford to see patients, and our hospitals, particularly those rural hospitals that will be going out of business. So there won't be an access to care. We won't have the ability to be a part of our own health care because there won't be a health care provider out there.

This is the dynamics that we have to look at. This is the equation that is so immense. What I have always said is start a little bit at a time. Make sure that the playing field is level and all of the participants are actually there, increasing the competition, making sure the public health and the private health are all in balance, and then making sure we have some tort reform.

We have to have that. That was absolutely missing within this health care system. That is what we are going to have to get back to. And we're going to have to have sunset clauses that we reactivate and reevaluate each of the process as our aging population gets older and as our technology gets better and there are new advances in medicine. We have to empower people to be part of their health care solution and empowering them to get back with their physician and their health care system. That's what we need to do.

And that's the most vibrant aspect that I can challenge our seniors with. We're here for Medicare. We're here to change Medicare in the right way. We're here to change it for you

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