Jane Harman: “tonight we are engaged in a partisan debate on what should be a bipartisan issue. Reforming Medicare to ensure access to…”

“tonight we are engaged in a partisan debate on what should be a bipartisan issue. Reforming Medicare to ensure access to prescription drugs is one of the most important things we could do this year. Seniors have been promised this benefit by both parties during the past two Congresses. Rather than engage in constructive debate, the Republican leadership has introduced a bill that does not get the job done under a rule for debate designed to prevent the consideration of any alternatives. I intend to vote against the Republican bill because it fails to provide genuine, reliable drug coverage for seniors. The Republican bill is confusing and unworkable. It requires seniors pay different amount in co-payments depending on how much they spend on prescription drugs overall. In fact, its benefits are likely so meager that only the sickest seniors would want to enroll--a recipe for bankruptcy of the system. The Republican bill does not ensure discounts on all the drugs seniors need. Not only does it offer no guarantee that private plans will cover all the prescriptions seniors need, but because of high cost-sharing and premiums, it will cover only 20 percent of the average senior's drug costs in a year. The Republican bill has a large gap in coverage. It offers seniors no assistance on drug costs between $2,000 and $3,700.”