Bill Clinton: “First, let me try to explain what he just said for those of you who don't understand it. If you're elderly and poor…”

“First, let me try to explain what he just said for those of you who don't understand it. If you're elderly and poor enough to be on Medicaid, that is if your income and resources are quite low, you today get drug coverage, you get medication. If you're $1 above the Medicaid line and you're on Medicare and you're elderly, you get no help for medication. You heard this gentleman say he has a $5,000 annual bill. Let me say, if he did not take those drugs--let's say he stopped taking those drugs--he might be in the hospital 2 weeks a year extra immediately, which would cost a whole lot more than $5,000, which would be completely reimbursed by the Government. You have all these people like him in this country today, a lot of people I have personally met, who are literally making a decision every week between buying medicine and buying food because they are just above that Medicaid line. And if they chose to buy food and get off their medicine and got real sick and went to the hospital, Medicare would pay for all of it, at a far greater expense. So, therefore, I think it is very important to cover medicine. The answer to your question is, the medical coverage will be treated more or less as a separate benefit, and in that medical coverage there will be a deductible of about $250 and then a copay of approximately in the range of $10. But that's a lot better than $5,000. Thank you. [A participant asked how the new plan would reduce hospital and health care costs.]”