Gus Bilirakis: “I would again remind all of us that the PBM, the pharmacy benefit managers, was an idea, an invention of the other…”

“I would again remind all of us that the PBM, the pharmacy benefit managers, was an idea, an invention of the other party, and we did learn a few things from it. We learned about the gap, if you will, or the donut. We learned about the PBM and that sort of thing. We took the best, I think, of their ideas and cranked them into this and made some minor changes. Mr. Speaker, this new prescription drug benefit also functions, and this is something I guess we do not talk about as much as we should, as a sort of insurance program, when you stop to think about it. Most senior citizens that I represent are very risk adverse. One of their great fears is to fall victim to a debilitating illness that will wipe out their life savings and burden their families. Since prescription medications are obviously crucial to the treatment of a myriad of conditions, it goes without saying that a long-term chronic illness will most likely result in high spending on prescription drugs. Under this bill, seniors who elect to join the program will pay around $35 per month for their Part D coverage. This premium buys them two things: First, it buys them the peace of mind that if they suffer from a catastrophic illness, that seniors will pay only 5 percent of their medications after spending $3,600 out of their own pocket; insurance, if you will, for if they really get sick.”