Political Quotes

“I want to talk about the delivery of prescription drugs to America's seniors. It is a subject that Senators have been talking about pretty much all week long, but people tuning in might wonder whether we are really making any progress toward getting a bill passed. That is what I would like to address this morning. For quite a long time now, we have appreciated the fact that when Medicare was created, treating people with medications was not the preferred or first or primary method of treatment. So much of what Medicare covers today is the cost of invasive surgery, and the cost of just about every other kind of treatment except treatment through the use of medication or prescription drugs. Over the last 25 years, it has become increasingly common for physicians first to treat with medications, if possible. It seems second nature to us now. When Medicare was first established, that was not the case. As a result, most prescription drugs were not covered as part of Medicare.”