Susan Davis: “I oppose this unacceptable bill that is particularly harmful to senior women. Mr. Speaker, I rise to talk about older…”

“I oppose this unacceptable bill that is particularly harmful to senior women. Mr. Speaker, I rise to talk about older women and their need for a real prescription drug benefit. The legislation we have before us represents a hollow substitute for a bona fide Medicare prescription drug benefit. Some will claim that the Republican Medicare reform legislation provides a prescription drug benefit and declare success. Well, Mr. Speaker, we aren't fooling anyone. We aren't fooling Donna Koski, from San Diego, who cannot afford her medication. She wrote to tell me, ``HMOs are no longer helping us with the cost [of drugs]. I worked and paid taxes all my life, raised five kids in California and now have five grandkids. I can't afford rent or so many things that I once took for granted would be there when I retired. What is to become of senior citizens [like me]?'' We aren't fooling Sidney and Edith Horwitz, from La Jolla, who told me. ``Figure out a way to give us drug benefits without joining a HMO. Deregulation and outsourcing to private companies has been a travesty to consumers.'' Mr. Speaker, my constituents want an affordable prescription drug benefit that will be there when they need it. They do not want to privatize Medicare. However, the bill we will discuss dismantles Medicare and does nothing to lower prescription drug prices. This proposal eliminates the security of traditional Medicare by requiring it to compete with private plans in 2010.”