Robert Berry: “As the gentleman has said, Americans pay outrageously high prices for prescription drugs. Over and over and over we hear…”

“As the gentleman has said, Americans pay outrageously high prices for prescription drugs. Over and over and over we hear it from our constituents. They must make the choice between food and medicine. There is no way that the greatest Nation in the history of the world should allow something like this to go on. It just simply is not fair that our senior citizens and all Americans pay more than any other country for medicine; they pay more than the big HMOs and the big hospitals pay for medicine, and even though it sounds ridiculous, they pay more than animals have to pay for medicine. Is it not a sad thing that we have allowed this to go on this long, only in the name of preserving the profits of the prescription drug manufacturers of this country. That is the only reason, is just for money, just for profits. Mr. Speaker, the need for an optional, meaningful and defined Medicare prescription drug benefit that is available to all seniors if they want it is absolutely without question.”