Bill Nelson: “Since our colleague from Nevada has joined us, I will use his State as an example. About 4 years ago, the State of…”

“Since our colleague from Nevada has joined us, I will use his State as an example. About 4 years ago, the State of Nevada passed a prescription drug benefit that was very similar to the one that has been sponsored by the White House and that, in fact, has passed the House of Representatives. It is a subsidy to insurance companies to provide a prescription drug benefit. In the case of the bill here, it is a Federal subsidy. In the case of Nevada, it was a State subsidy. But the fact is, not one insurance company stepped forward in Nevada, after the passage of that law, to offer a prescription drug benefit because the insurance companies want to make money. They realized they could not make money. Sure, we are having a problem with escalating costs of prescription drugs, and we should deal with that, too. The question is, Are we going to fulfill our promise to provide a legitimate and workable prescription drug benefit to senior citizens on Medicare?”