Michael Steele's ideas on health care reform

From an interview at Fox w/Greta on August 25th:
Excerpts posted if you don't have time to read entire transcript.

VS: But can you sort of, you know -- you know, bring me in on the secret why the Republicans didn't do health care reform when they owned the House, the Senate and the White House? Do you have any idea?

S: No, I don't have an idea, and I think, you know, again, it's one of those -- those flaws of the past that, you know, we tripped ourselves up on. We had a perfect opportunity even when we didn't have control of the House and Senate during the early days of the Bush -- of Bush first term to at least put in place some of the -- some of the efforts to put, you know, our imprimatur, if you will, on the health care debate.

...What I do not applaud is the way they want to go about reforming our health care system when, in fact, the parts that they want to reform and don't need it, and the parts like Medicare that do need to be addressed, they're kind of slipping off to the side because everyone knows there's no money here, Greta, in about six or seven years. And so with all this spending now, where will the money come from to deal for our seniors in about six years when there is no money for Medicare?

From Washington Post opinion piece from August 24th:

Furthermore, under the Democrats' plan, senior citizens will pay a steeper price and will have their treatment options reduced or rationed.

...Many of the most significant costs of care come in the last six months of a patient's life, and every American household must consider how to treat their loved ones.

So part of the goal is to drive the conversation for health care reform to:

The parts like Medicare that do need to be addressed do not touch?

Continue to spend the most significant costs of care...in the last six months of a patient's life?