Lois Capps: “In 1965 we established Medicare because the private insurance industry demonstrated that it could not provide affordable…”

“In 1965 we established Medicare because the private insurance industry demonstrated that it could not provide affordable access to health care for seniors, at least not at rates that seniors could afford. Now, 37 years later, this Congress will be considering important changes to improve this most successful government program. Everyone seems to recognize that we must add prescription drug coverage to the program. Older Americans fill more than one-third of all the prescriptions that doctors write and will spend $1.8 trillion over the next decade on these critical medications, much of it from their own pockets. Our parents, our grandparents, the seniors living in our neighborhood need and deserve our help. But I am afraid that some have lost track of the important lessons of 1965, that markets forces are inadequate to this task. Now I recognize the power of the market. Since arriving in Congress I have voted for tax cuts and supported free trade and generally taken a pro-business stance. But here, when we are trying to provide health care for our senior citizens and those with disabilities, we have seen the markets fall short.”