Nancy L. Johnson: “we have had a parade of my colleagues from the other side claim that this legislation is harmful to senior women. I…”

“we have had a parade of my colleagues from the other side claim that this legislation is harmful to senior women. I wonder how they could have so lost touch with the lives of women in America and women in their districts. This bill represents the greatest leap forward in women's health since the passage of Medicare. I was polite to you, and I ask that you be polite to me. For the very first time, women, particularly low-income women, will have their prescriptions covered. Perhaps you did not read the bill. You know and I know that women live longer than men. The great majority of seniors are women. Perhaps you did not know that retired women are living on half the income of retired men, that the average income of retired men in America is $30,000 and the average income of retired women is $15,000 and of retired women over 85 is $10,000. Under this bill those low-income women will receive 100 percent of the costs of their drugs, of their premiums, of the deductible, and of the co-insurance up to maybe 2 to $5. They will have a right to charge that much co-insurance. That is an incredible boon to these women. They will have the security of knowing that every dollar of their prescription costs up to $2,000 will be covered if your income is under 175 percent of poverty, and that is 44 percent of all seniors. Yes, this is a wonderful thing for women in America. Yes, this bill is a giant step forward for seniors in America.”