WASHINGTON, May 18 (UPI) -- Congress needs to strengthen and improve the nation's Medicare system, adding prescription drug coverage and offering more coverage choices at lower cost, President Bush said Saturday.
The medical program for senior citizens "is one of the most important and compassionate programs in America, but more needs to be done to fulfill Medicare's promise," the president said.
The exhortation, in the president's weekly radio address to the nation, was the latest from Bush promoting his domestic legislative agenda. Last week he urged Congress to act on welfare reform, a theme he pursued during personal appearances outside Washington.
"Medicare is an essential program, but it has not kept pace with the advances in medicine," he said. "The Medicare program is costly for seniors and too often does not provide the choices our seniors need and our seniors want.
"We must act now to provide every Medicare member with more choices and more savings."
An element of the president's Medicare reform proposals is inclusion of a prescription drug benefit. In the short-term, however, Bush said he is pushing for a Medicare-endorsed drug card that will allow recipients to obtain lower prices on drugs from manufacturers immediately.
He added that he was also working "for temporary assistance with drug costs for seniors with limited incomes" in advance of long-term prescription benefits coming into effect.
Other proposals, he said, include a fairer system of competition to allow Medicare enrollees to receive greater treatment options through Medicare's private plans.
"The federal government has long provided reliable coverage choices to all its employees," Bush said. "But current law prevents private health plans from giving Medicare enrollees the same choices. As a result, over 100 private plans have left Medicare, and millions of seniors have lost the valuable additional benefits that private plans provide."
"Medicare is crucial to elderly Americans," he said in conclusion. "I urge members of both parties to work together to improve Medicare, and to maintain our moral commitment to millions of Americans."
