James Davis: “This is about choice. This is about whether the beneficiary under current law can fall back on the traditional Medicare…”

“This is about choice. This is about whether the beneficiary under current law can fall back on the traditional Medicare program. There has been no dispute that under this bill as the chief actuarial, the President's chief actuarial, has said, the premiums can increase by up to 25 percent. Nobody is disputing that. And nobody is trying to answer the question, what happens to that Medicare beneficiary whose premium increases by up to 25 percent who runs out of money under the voucher at the end of the week or at the end of the month. I think the gentleman should respond to the point that has been made a couple of times here, which is one of the ways to develop a more affordable prescription drug benefit is to give to the Federal Government the authority to negotiate a discount. Just as Secretary Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense, negotiates a discount when he buys a helmet or a hammer, just as Sam's Club negotiates discounts for the benefit of all the people we represent, why should the Federal Government not have the ability to negotiate a discount when it purchases prescription drugs for the benefit of our Medicare beneficiaries?”