For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 17, 2005
Press Gaggle by Scott McClellan and Dr. Mark McClellan, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Aboard Air Force One
En route Minneapolis, Minnesota
9:29 A.M. EDT
MR. McCLELLAN: All right, let me start off. The President taped
his radio address this morning. As I indicated yesterday, I believe,
it'll focus on the economy and Iraq and the war on terrorism. Then he
had his usual briefing.
When we land we'll first be going to the Maple Grove Community
Center and the President will visit a seniors center there, where he'll
see a training session of volunteers on Medicare enrollment. I'll let
my brother here talk about that more in a minute. And then he'll
participate in a conversation on Medicare with Dr. McClellan and a
volunteer from the community center, as well as the head of the
community center, I believe, and two pharmacists, I believe, are also
on that panel.
Then when we return this afternoon, the President will head to Camp
David for the weekend. And that's really all I have to begin with.
I'm going to turn it over to Mark, who will give you a quick summary of
what to expect today, and then he'll be here for whatever questions you
have. And if you have any additional ones, I'll be around after that.
DR. McCLELLAN: The President talked yesterday about a broad
national effort at the grass-roots level to reach people with Medicare
and their family members and others who care about people with Medicare
to make sure they get the facts about the new prescription drug
coverage that's coming on January 1st. The President and all of us
want people to get the facts so that they can make a confident decision
about what to do with the new Medicare coverage.
An important part of that effort is partnerships around the
country. Many volunteers, such as the ones that the President is
meeting with today, are helping with this outreach and education
effort. At the training session that he'll be visiting, there will be
representatives from the Social Security Administration. Social
Security is working with us to help identify and educate and enroll
lower income Medicare beneficiaries in the extra help that's available
through the Medicare prescription drug coverage.
Because people with limited incomes have been a hard population to
reach in previous new government benefits, we are starting early. The
President talked about yesterday there is a straightforward
application, it's four pages, 16 questions - that's quite different
from the usual way these enrollment processes work, where often a
Medicaid application requires more than 20 pages, several visits to a
state office and lots of attached documentation, like tax records or
financial records. For this lower income outreach effort, we've got a
four-page application with no attachments required; Social Security is
mailing these out to people who are likely to be eligible. And we're
taking many other steps to make sure people who are likely to be
eligible find out about it.
The reason it's so important is because the extra help from
Medicare for people with limited means can pay for 95 percent or more
of their prescription drug costs on average, starting in January. And
if they fill out this application and are eligible, we'll get them into
drug coverage, this comprehensive drug coverage next year.
The President will also hear about the outreach efforts that we're
undertaking with many other groups around the country: pharmacists,
health professionals, volunteer organizations, seniors groups like the
AARP, coalitions that are coming together - even including some members
who didn't support the original Medicare bill - to make sure that
people get the facts and can take advantage of the new coverage next
year. As the President said yesterday, right now the focus is on
building awareness for all Medicare beneficiaries and the people who
care about them, and also to help people with limited incomes find out
about the extra help.
In the fall, people will have more specific information about what
the new Medicare drug coverage means for them, and we're letting them
know about what to expect for the fall, when all the information will
be available. So this will get us on track to enabling people with
Medicare to make a confident decision about the prescription drug
coverage.
MR. McCLELLAN: Any questions for Mark?
Q Are you convinced that it's as simple as it can be, or is it
still a little bit too complicated for some people? The form, even the
four-page form?
DR. McCLELLAN: For the limited income subsidy, the Social Security
Administration worked with us and many outside groups to make it as
simple as possible. And if you compare this application to every other
previous application for an extra help program, like food stamps or
Medicaid or supplemental security income, this is far, far simpler. As
I said, it's just 16 questions. Most people don't even need to answer
all the questions. And, in fact, if people can just fill out part of
it and send it in, we'll call them back and help them fill out the
rest.
We're also starting very early - this is more than six months
before the coverage begins - to give people plenty of opportunities to
learn about it. And we're working with literally hundreds of outside
organizations to get the word out. All of these are new steps, things
that have not been done before for important new government programs
like this one.
Q This is available to anyone who has Medicare, right? Anyone
who -
DR. McCLELLAN: There are two parts. There is the Medicare
benefit, which is available to everyone with Medicare; they will get
help paying for their drug costs. And for a typical person, Medicare
will pay for more than half of their cost of prescription drugs. And
Medicare will also provide peace of mind for high medical expenses - if
you have high, out-of-pocket costs, Medicare will pick up 95 percent of
the costs beyond $3,600.
But for people with limited incomes, like most of those living on a
Social Security check, Medicare is providing extra help. So if you're
a couple with an income below about $19,000, a single person with an
income below about $15,000, Medicare will pay, on average, 95 percent
of your costs. And there's an application available now for that extra
help. Then in the fall, everyone will be able to make a decision about
taking advantage of the Medicare coverage, but the people with limited
incomes get extra help. And altogether, it's about a third of Medicare
beneficiaries that are eligible for this extra help, so it's not just
people who think of themselves as low income, but most of the people
who are living on a fixed income, just from Social Security.
Q How many people do you think will sign up by the deadline of
January 1?
DR. McCLELLAN: Well, there are a lot of projections out about
that. And the deadline isn't January 1st; seniors - as the President
said yesterday, the date to circle is November 15th, that's when the
coverage starts, that's when you can start signing up. And people can
sign up all the way until May 15th of 2006. So we've got 11 months
that we're going to be working to make sure people can make an informed
decision.
I think a lot of people aren't going to sign up right on January
1st. I think some people will think about it. I do think millions of
people will be enrolled at the beginning of the year or early in the
year. This includes millions of people who've really been struggling
with their drug costs and are going to get this extra limited income
help; and millions more who have retiree coverage and are now going to
get new help from Medicare; and millions more who are in the Medicare
Advantage health plans, who can get some drug coverage today and
they're going to get even more. And I think that there are going to be
more people beyond that who sign up right away, but a lot of people are
going to spend some time thinking about it - and that's fine, that's
why we want to give them the whole six-month period to make a
decision.
MR. McCLELLAN: All right, anything else for Mark?
Q Mark, what's your exact title?
DR. McCLELLAN: It's Dr. Mark McClellan, and I'm the Administrator
of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or the head of the
Medicare program, Medicare Chief, something like that, if you want to
shorten it down.
MR. McCLELLAN: "Older brother," you can just refer to him as
that. (Laughter.)
DR. McCLELLAN: That works, too.
MR. McCLELLAN: All right, thanks, Mark.
DR. McCLELLAN: Thank you.
MR. McCLELLAN: Anything else for me before I go to the week
ahead?
Q I have one thing. There are reports this morning that both
Bill Thomas and Chuck Grassley have given up trying to get Republican
support for personal accounts and they're going to bring to the floors
of their respective Houses a bill that doesn't have personal accounts.
Is the administration okay with that?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not sure -- which reports are you referring
to?
Q The Wall Street Journal story that says that pretty much that
both chairmen have given up trying to find a majority support in their
committees.
MR. McCLELLAN: We're working very closely with Congress to save
Social Security for future generations. This is an important part of
what the President talks about when he talks about economic security.
Retirement security is a critical component of people's economic
security, and the President believes very strongly that we need to not
only make it permanently sound, but we also need to make it a better
deal. And that's why personal accounts are so important. And the
President is going to continue advocating for an approach that fixes
the hole in the safety net for future generations, and also makes it a
better deal for future generations by allowing them to realize a
greater rate of return on their retirement savings.
We believe that personal accounts are an important part of the
solution. So we'll be continuing to work with members of Congress.
We're pleased that these two leaders are committed to moving forward on
Social Security, on saving Social Security and they're doing so in
their respective committees.
Q Do you think the two issues could be separated? In other
words, you can move a solvency bill now and then come back later and
take a look at the personal accounts again?
MR. McCLELLAN: Let me reiterate that we believe that making it
permanently sound and making it a better deal are both an important
part of solving and - not only - well, of saving and strengthening
Social Security. We want to save it and strengthen it, and that's why
personal accounts are so important.
Q So it should be simultaneously tackled, is that -
MR. McCLELLAN: We're going to continue to work with members of
Congress. I mean, we're not going to get into trying to negotiate on
Air Force One or from the podium. We're continuing to work closely
with members of Congress to get it done this year.
Q What do you think the chances of getting it done this year
are? I mean, it looks like it's a long way off -
MR. McCLELLAN: One thing I'm going to be talking about, or
mentioning in the week ahead is the President next week will be
participating in another conversation on Social Security. This is a
high priority and the American people recognize that there are major
problems facing Social Security. You've had a few Democrats in the
House that have broken with the leadership and said we need to put
forward solutions. And the President is going to continue working with
all those who are committed to getting something done.
It's unfortunate that the Democratic leadership is still trying to
block efforts to solve this important priority.
Q But the Democrats are saying that the President is being
obstructionist and refusing to negotiate, only if personal accounts are
on the table. Why won't you take personal accounts off the table?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think the President has made it very clear he
welcomes all ideas for finding a solution. The Democrats - the
Democratic leadership, I should say - because, I mean, you have
President Clinton who has come out and said the Democrats need to put
forward ideas and solutions for saving Social Security. The Democrats
now acknowledge, after a few months ago saying that it wasn't a
problem, they're now saying well, it is a serious problem that needs to
be addressed. But they're not coming to the table with ideas, and the
American people expect better - they want people coming to the table
with solutions. They're not offering any solutions, all they're doing
is simply trying to block getting something done and making this better
for future generations.
Q Scott, The Washington Post is reporting that the U.S. is the
one country that's sort of resisting elements in the G8 deal to take a
strong stand against global warming and trying to water down some of
the language. Why is the U.S. not meeting the rest of the other seven
countries on their terms?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think that that's just an inaccurate
characterization. Let me tell you why, because the G8 summit is coming
up and any time you have a summit like this you're going to have some
pre-summit discussion and negotiation going on. This is all part of
the pre-summit discussions and negotiation. We want to make sure that
there is a consensus to move forward in a practical way to address
important priorities. And we are focused on results and moving forward
to address the long-term challenges of climate change. And that means
investing in new technologies and working in partnership with others to
significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And that's what we're
doing.
So this is the usual pre-summit negotiations and discussions that
go on any time there is a G8 summit.
Q Are you disputing The Washington Post characterization that
there would be a consensus if the U.S. would come aboard? I mean -
MR. McCLELLAN: Actually, we've been working with other countries
to reach a consensus and that's what we're in the process of doing.
Q It suggests the U.S. is the one holdout, so it would be a
consensus if the U.S. -
MR. McCLELLAN: I wouldn't describe it that way. This is all part
- as I said, it's all part of the usual pre-summit discussions and
negotiations.
Q So does "long-term" mean we don't have to do anything right
now?
MR. McCLELLAN: We are doing - we are acting right now. We're
leading the way on a lot of initiatives. Let me remind you we have put
forward the methane-to-markets approach, working in partnership with
others to significantly reduce that greenhouse gas emission and to also
provide cleaner burning electricity. We are leading the way when it
comes to investing billions in research to better understand the
challenges of climate change. We're leading the way and working with
others to invest in new technologies that are needed to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
So the facts just point to the - I mean, the facts contradict what
you just said.
Q Scott, how do you react to the new - I guess, The New York
Times/CBS poll numbers about efforts to bring stability and order in
Iraq, now 60 percent, up from 47 percent in February, of people being
troubled by what they're seeing? How do you react to that -
MR. McCLELLAN: I kind of talked about it a little bit yesterday.
I think the President is going to - in terms of the situation in Iraq,
you're going to hear more from the President in his radio address, when
he talks about it. Remember what I said yesterday, it's important to
keep the American people informed about the progress being made in
Iraq, the difficulties and dangers that remain and our strategy for
succeeding and getting our troops home. We all want to see our troops
return soon. The President wants to see our troops return soon.
But I think no matter where you stood prior to the decision to go
into Iraq, we can all recognize that the terrorists have made Iraq the
central front in the war on terrorism. That's why it's so critical
that we succeed in Iraq. And our troops are doing a tremendous job to
complete the mission. The terrorists recognize they can't defeat the
coalition troops and the Iraqi forces, so they're trying to shake our
resolve, and that's all they can do. But the Iraqi people have shown
that they are committed to moving forward on a free and democratic
future. Each step of the way the Iraqi people have proven the skeptics
wrong. They have turned out in large numbers to elect a transitional
government. That transitional government is moving forward on drafting
a constitution. We're confident that the Iraqi people will continue to
defy the skeptics. There has been significant progress made in one
year.
But the enemy is a determined enemy. They are terrorists that are
trying to do everything they can to derail the transition to democracy,
but they will be defeated. And that's why it's so important that we
continue to train and equip the Iraqi security forces, so that our
troops will be able to return home with honor once they are able to
defend themselves.
But Iraq is the central front in the war on terrorism. A free Iraq
will be a powerful force for transforming the rest of the Middle East,
and that's why it's so important that we succeed. And I think the
American people recognize that it is important that we succeed in Iraq
for our long-term security.
Anything else? Week ahead. The President on Monday will be
meeting with the European Union leaders, part of United States-EU
summit that will be going on. And then they'll participate in a press
availability in the East Room. This will include Presidents Juncker
and Barroso, as well as High Representative Solana.
Then on Tuesday, as we've already announced, the President will be
meeting with the Prime Minister of Vietnam in the Oval Office. He'll
also participate in the swearing-in ceremony for our Chairman of the
Council of Economic Advisors, Ben Bernanke, who was just confirmed by
the Senate the other day. Then he will make remarks, via satellite, to
the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting.
And then on Wednesday, we will go to Lusby, Maryland, where the
President will tour the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plants. Then he
will make remarks and economic security and energy.
On Thursday, as I mentioned, he'll participate in a conversation on
strengthening Social Security. And then on -
Q Where's that?
MR. McCLELLAN: In D.C. And then on Friday, the President will
meet with the Prime Minister of Iraq, and then they will have a joint
press availability in the East Room.
Thank you all.
Q Scott, can I ask you quickly - the EU-U.S. summit, is there a,
sort of, couple points that are the highlight of the meetings?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, this is a way to continue talking about how
we can work together on the common challenges that we're working to
address. This will be an opportunity to talk about how we can move
forward to spread freedom and democracy, strengthen security and extend
prosperity throughout the world. I think that will be some of the
focus of Monday. And I expect that they will talk about the Middle
East and the progress being made there on the disengagement plan and
the preparations for the disengagement plan. I expect they'll talk
about Iraq. The United States and European Union are hosting a donor's
conference, as you're aware, where at least some 80 countries that will
be participating to support the Iraqi people in their efforts. I
imagine they'll talk about Afghanistan and the broader Middle East
initiative. I'm sure they'll talk about the broader war on terrorism
and efforts to combat proliferation. I imagine they'll touch on
economic -- talk about economic issues, as well, like trade and moving
forward on the Doha negotiations. So that's kind of a general overview
of it.
Thanks.
END 9:49 A.M. EDT
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