Senate Proceeding on Jul 16th, 2009 :: 6:03:25 to 6:11:54
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6:03:21 to 6:03:44( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: senator from kansa a se unanimous consent that i may be proceed as if in morning business. 3r50 is there objection? without objection, so ordered. a senator: mr. president, thank you very much. i position here. if you look in the biosection of

6:03:25 to 6:11:54( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Pat Roberts

6:03:45 to 6:04:05( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: all of the outfits, they will record me as a journalist. that's an unemployed newspaper man, by the way. mr. roberts: i we have five generations in the roberts family in the sec older newspaper in kansas and still carry around my reporter's

6:04:06 to 6:04:26( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: notebook and have a great respect for those of the fourth state who shine the light of truth with their own individual flash light. i don't think that i've done this in 28 years of public service, but i'm irritated. i'm more than irritated and i rise today to clear up some recent flagrant mischaracterizations about

6:04:27 to 6:04:47( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: medicare payments and especially since the medicare payments are now being used as a target, as a pay for for the health care reform. the alleged health care reform that senator enzi was talking about. specifically the statements made on the front page of today's "washington post", the fountain of all knowledge here in

6:04:48 to 6:05:08( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: washington. in an article "obama eyes the purse strings for medicare." i would describe this article -- i read it and i read it again. i was a relatively happy person, watching the weather. don't watch the news much. had my cup of coffee. was going to turn to the sports

6:05:09 to 6:05:33( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: pages, and happened to read this and it ruined my whole morning. i came in, was mean to my staff and everything else. so i thought i better get it off my chest. this article is patronizing. it's condescending and

6:05:34 to 6:05:55( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: part about it is that it egregious in nature. article of -- the author of this article sees what she cease as one of the lucrative forms of constituent service, i.e., setting reimbursement rates for doctors, hospitals, home health centers and other health care providers.

6:05:56 to 6:06:16( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: oh, i wish i had that power as opposed to c.m.s., which is the acronym agency for the department of health and human services who does settle reimbursement rates for all health care providers in the united states. and the author continues -- accusing long-time members of congress of such atrocities as

6:06:17 to 6:06:37( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: championing new york city's teaching hospitals and making sure rural amountly funded- are amptly funded. it is -- quote -- "flush"

6:06:38 to 6:06:59( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: f-l-u-s-h with medicare cash as a result. in my 28 years in congress, i have been absolutely one of those disasterly members intent on making sure the rural health care delivery system can remain alive and serve our people. even if it has to be kept on life support, which is the true characterization of what we face.

6:07:00 to 6:07:21( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: and i wonder, since i appears anywhere in the person's article in her article, the author of this piece aware that the average medicare reimbursement rate for doctor is about 80% of what the commercial market pays or that medicare only pays about 70% of the market rates for hospitals. that's why we have hospital

6:07:22 to 6:07:42( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: after hospital after hospital for decades in kansas pas bond issues just to keep their doors open. these are not flush payments. these are not posh places in regards to hospitals. anhe g that doctors get paid 08%, and that's why doctors, many -- 80%,

6:07:43 to 6:08:04( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: and that's why doctors, many of them are refusing -- are refusing to pay in regards to medicare patients. and that is that terrible word that people say is too scary. that's called rationing. that when we set a reimbursement rate, we, meaning the c.m.s.

6:08:05 to 6:08:26( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: h. -- these agencies can't reimburse doctors enough so they can make a living or other health care providers, that they cease -- medicare to seniors. what does t well, they are really, really in a very difficult situation. how do you think these providers survive?

6:08:27 to 6:08:47( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: the answer is that they shift that loss tonight private market to the tune of nearl nearly $09 billion a year. let me repeat that. everybody that goes to the hospital, everybody that goes to a doctor, and has private insurance, you are payin paying $90 billion a year in a hidden tax in regards to the people tha basically are not covered by medicare and by

6:08:48 to 6:09:10( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: medicaid. if, in fact, you would do what the president has suggested and maybe take some- maybe take some money, i use the purse strings for medicare. medicare being a medicare being the service for seniors. wake up seniors, wake up aarp.

6:09:11 to 6:09:32( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: wake up everything medical health field. if any senator had come down here, except during these last six months and said let's cut medicare by 10%, they would have been excoriated by this newspaper hurting senior citizens. well, in my state of kansas and in other rural states across the

6:09:33 to 6:09:54( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: country, we don't have a private market to shift the costs on to. our areas don't have the population base to shift a cost in addition the folks in these towns are much more likely to dend on medicare or medicaid or simply to be uninsured. in short, without some sort of

6:09:55 to 6:10:15( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: special payment from medicare, these hospitals would not survive. now, you tell me, "washington post", what you would say to the top cenr in kansas - would you say to the residents of smith center if their hospital closed?

6:10:16 to 6:10:38( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: smith center's a great close to the geographic center of the lower 48 states. it has a populatio less than 2,000 people. they have a great football team, mr. the high school football team, pride one of the greatest football teams in america.

6:10:39 to 6:11:00( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: it is served by the smith county memorial hospital, a critical access hospital with 25 beds. now for those of you who are unfamiliar with the terminology, a critical access hospital is a rural hospital with 25 beds or less which is away from which provides services.

6:11:01 to 6:11:21( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: critical access hospitals get special treatment under medicare. they get paid 101% of their cost for in-patient and out-patient and swing bed services. probably shouldn't mention t or this reporter will run out t smith center and say, you're getting 100%, sure wish she should go out and t

6:11:22 to 6:11:44( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: and talk to the hospital administrator and the people in that hospital. in other words, they do not get the usual 70% of the market rate reimbursement for medicare for a very good reason, because of the distances that they would have to travel. without the critical access hospital program, the closest hospital for the residents of smith center would be in

6:11:45 to 6:11:55( Edit History Discussion )

Pat Roberts: hayes, kansas, america, right here, 90 miles away. you tell me what a person's chances of survival are after a car accident or