Barbara Boxer: “I am disappointed that after nearly three weeks of debate, the Senate has been unable to pass a prescription drug…”

“I am disappointed that after nearly three weeks of debate, the Senate has been unable to pass a prescription drug benefit for seniors. Millions of senior citizens across the country desperately need this help. In California alone there are nearly 3.8 million Medicare beneficiaries. According to the most recent estimates, 684,000 of those Californians have no prescription drug coverage. Unsurprisingly, low-income California seniors make up the majority of those currently suffering. However, this is an issue that cuts across socioeconomic lines to affect all seniors, throughout my State and throughout the Nation. It is easy to listen to numbers and forget that there are faces behind those numbers--real people with real health care problems. But that is precisely why this debate is so important. There are seniors in this country who are being gouged by the prices of prescription drugs, who are choosing to skip doses to make their drugs last, and who are holding off as long as possible before they fill their prescriptions because they simply can't afford it. This is a travesty, and one that we must address.”