WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama on Wednesday (Sept. 9) night promised to protect Medicare and reassured the elderly that Medicare funds would not be used to pay for a health care overhaul, the Associated Press reported.
The president said the plan would eliminate billions of dollars in waste and fraud and what he called the "unwarranted subsidies" that go to insurance companies. In his words, these companies "do everything to pad their profits and nothing to improve your care."
Under the president's plan it would be the job of an independent commission of doctors and medical experts to identify more waste in the coming years.
Obama said Medicare is a sacred trust that must be passed on to future generations.
(The preceding article was distributed September 10, 2009, by the Associated Press.)
