Pete Stark: “Mr. Speaker, I would explain, when one sells out to the insurance industry, we get the Republican bill. They free up any…”

“Mr. Speaker, I would explain, when one sells out to the insurance industry, we get the Republican bill. They free up any resources that go to the Hartford Insurance Companies. The truth is that the average senior in this country spends $3,059 on drugs. Under the Republican plan, they will have to spend $1,959 out of pocket to get that $3,000 worth of drugs. Under the bill that we would suggest, they would spend only $691.80. So Members can see that the Democratic plan, had we been allowed to offer it, is better. It does something for the seniors that the Republican bill does not do: it gives them the wherewithal to afford drugs. It gives them an entitlement that they are entitled to. The Republican bill is an entitlement for the pharmaceutical industry and the insurance industry. They are the only ones who get any money under the Republican bill. Under our alternative, the seniors are entitled.”