Bob Filner: “I rise today in support of a true prescription drug plan that would cover all the seniors in America. Under Medicare, a…”

“I rise today in support of a true prescription drug plan that would cover all the seniors in America. Under Medicare, a Democratic prescription drug benefit would be voluntary and universal. Every senior would have access, no matter where they live or what their income. Soaring prices for prescription drugs are putting medicine out of reach for millions of seniors. Many of them are being forced to choose between paying for prescription drugs or paying for food. No older American should be faced with that decision. The House Republican prescription drug plan is a sham proposal that provides no real guarantee at all. Let us do the math, Mr. Speaker. Republicans argue that they have a $2,500 gap in coverage. That gap is bad enough, but the reality is even worse. Here is the math that will compare apples to apples. Under the Republican drug plan, the beneficiary pays as follows: a $250 deductible, and then a $150 coinsurance for the first $1,000 of drugs, and then a $500 coinsurance for the next $1,000 of drugs. Add that up and that is $900 out-of-pocket spending for the first $2,000 worth of prescription drugs. But that is not the end of it. You then have to calculate how much additional money a beneficiary must spend out of pocket to get to the $4,500 out-of-pocket limit that the Republicans have. That is $3,600. The gap for which the beneficiary is 100 percent on the hook in the Republican Medicare bill is $3,600.”