LOOK FORWARD TO DISCUSSING WITH YOU, MR. SECRETARY, WHAT STEPS THE ADMINISTRATION WILL TAKE TO LIMIT THESE COSTS.

hearing with the distinguished witness, Secretary Louis Sullivan, to address the impact of federal health policy on vulnerable

Americans, especially the poor and the elderly.

With

the aging of America, the time has

come

to address the

health and long-term care problems of both today's and tomorrow's

elderly.

I believe that we should make greater investment in

research and treatment for diseases prevalent among the elderly

and develop comprehensive policies for preventive care, home care

and long-term care for the elderly.

I am particularly impressed with Secretary Sullivan, who brings fresh air to the plight and problem of minorities and the elderly population. I commend you, Secretary Sullivan, for making a major initiative tbe Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Outreach

program

by targeting the communities where needy senior citizens

reside,

On Guam you do not have to try very hard to reach the eligible

elderly for the program because they are well aware of what it can

I firmly believe that they have just as much right to beceive the benefits as their neighbors in the commonwealth of

Northern Mariana Islands, only forty miles away in the

Western

Pacific.

The irony is that in spite of repeated attempts to extend

SSI

benefits to Guam, they have not yet been granted to us.

I cannot

language in our Guam Commonwealth Bill, H.R. 98.

The federal government raised an objection to the extention of

Guananians died in the Korean War than any other community in the

U.S.

That's cultural disruption.

There are 71 Guamanian names

engraved on the Vietnam War Memorial, proportionally more than for

residents of

шу Territory is indeed culturally disruptive, please, I beg you, disrupt us by treating us as equals.

It is tije for the U.S. to rectify the inequity imposed on the

citizens ?ire those in the rest of the nation.

The poor elder.js

disabled 2... the blind on Guam will truly know that the federal

government cares about their health and well-being just as much as for that of their fellow citizens in other parts of the country

PREPARED STATEMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE CONSTANCE A. MORELLA

I WOULD FIRST LIKE TO THANK DR. SULLIVAN FOR HIS

ATTENDANCE AT THIS HEARING.

I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING HIS

STATEMENT AND TO HAVING HIM CLARIFY AND DEFINE FOR US THE

Tie JADMINISTRATION'S VIEWS ON THE ROLE OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN HEALTH

CARE OPTIONS FOR "VULNERABLE" POPULATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES.

IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND, ALONE, AN ESTIMATED 12% OF THE

POPULATION IS EITHER UNINSURED OR UNDERINSURED, ACCORDING TO THE

PLANNING AND EVALUATION SECTION OF THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY HEALTH

DEPARTMENT.

THIS DOES NOT EVEN REFLECT THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN AND

ELDERLY OR ILL INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE "VULNERABLE" DUE TO INABILITY TO

GET TO A CLINIC, OR AT RISK BECAUSE OF INADEQUATE NUTRITION OR POOR

LIVING CONDITIONS.

I AM SURE THAT DR.

SULLIVAN WILL SHARE WITH US SOME OF THE

ADMINISTRATION'S PLANS.

AS I UNDERSTAND), THESE PLANS INCLUDE

ENCOURAGING OPTIONS SUCH AS "MANAGED CARE" AND OTHER ALTERNATIVE

METHODS OF DELIVERING QUALITY HEALTH CARE IN A COST-EFFECTIVE METHOD,

AS HE MENTIONED IN HIS STATEMENT BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND

MEANS ON FEBRUARY 6 OF THIS YEAR.

WE MUST BE SURE THAT IN OUR EFFORTS TO CONTROL SPENDING, WE DO

NOT INADVERTANTLY LEAVE BEHIND THOSE THAT NEED OUR ASSISTANCE THE

ELIGIBLE FOR SUCH PROGRAMS KNOW OF THEIR EXISTENCE AND ARE INDEED

RECEIVING SERVICES.