GOP DOCTORS CAUCUS: SAVE MEDICARE

Floor Speech

Mr. FLEMING. Mr. Speaker, once again the GOP Doctors Caucus comes together to discuss important matters regarding health care. Tonight we're going to focus on saving Medicare. This has been a very interesting discussion going back to the days of the ObamaCare debate where we talked about how we would finance ObamaCare. And lo and behold in the middle of the debate, we find out that the Members of the other side of the aisle decide that they're going to help finance ObamaCare by taking out over $500 billion--half a trillion--$500 billion from Medicare over the next 10 years in order to help finance ObamaCare.

Now if you think about this, the CBO states that Medicare may become insolvent as early as 2016. So I think the focus right now with regard to Medicare, an important part of our entitlement program, has got to be how are we going to save Medicare. I have an array of colleagues here this evening that are going to help me develop that issue.

Again, I'll go back to the financing of ObamaCare, and that is cutting out over half a trillion dollars from Medicare in order to help finance ObamaCare. And there are some other pieces of the financing as well--the individual mandate which is soon to go to the Supreme Court. And if that is struck down, that will be another piece of the financing that won't be available. Tax increases, increases of taxes, excise taxes, taxes on equipment, taxes on tanning beds, many different new taxes, as much as $800 billion over 10 years of new taxes in order to finance ObamaCare.

Then there was the CLASS Act, which was long term health care, which the actuaries said from the beginning would not work. It would not finance anything.

And then last, but not least, is the student loan program, which was nationalized in order to siphon off profits from that in order to help finance ObamaCare. And we hear talk now about forgiving those loans which means that it'll probably be another bailout, like the mortgage.

So, Mr. Speaker, I have to speak out tonight on the fact that ObamaCare is going to bankrupt this country if it is actually fully implemented. But more importantly, Medicare will become insolvent as early as 2016. We're going to be talking about how that's happening, how we're seeing skyrocketing costs. And some of the things perhaps that will be discussed tonight will be how we can save Medicare.

Again, in closing my initial comments here, I will have to emphasize to you that our colleagues from the other side, inasmuch as they somehow want to blame us for ending Medicare, which not a single Member on the Republican side wants to do, of course, but they accuse us of this, but in fact they have yet to submit a plan that will save Medicare, will prevent it from becoming insolvent by 2016 or 2022, depending on whom you believe.

So with these opening remarks, I would like to open the floor to my good friend, Dr. Harris from Maryland, and would love to hear some of your comments about saving Medicare and other matters having to do with health care.

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