Quotes of note - Industry Watch

Healthcare Financial Management, June, 2003

"Short-term federal aid alone does not solve the fundamental problems."

--Bill Pierce, spokesperson for HHS secretary Tommy Thompson, responding to Congressional calls for immediate relief to the states that are facing severe Medicaid shortfalls.

"In political reality ... nothing like Mr. Gephardt's plan is going to become law anytime soon."

--New York Times columnist and Princeton economics professor Paul Krugman, commenting on Democratic presidential candidate Dick Gephardt's universal healthcare proposal.

"Steps must be taken when crafting the prescription benefit and other changes to ensure the sustainability of Medicare over the long haul."

--House Ways and Means Committee chairman Bill Thomas, reiterating the Bush administration's insistence that the Medicare program must be entirely restructured before a prescription drug benefit can be added.

"We fix prices for every physician procedure and hospital visit. It would be much better to have private health plans make those decisions, but I try to be the best price-fixer I can be."

--CMS administrator Tom Scully, commenting on revelations that CMS has been changing Medicare's traditional approach to pricing and has been effectively "controlling prices" through new coverage mandates.

Compiled by Jeanne Schulte Scott, JD, healthcare lobbyist, Washington, D.C.