Karen Thurman: “I accompany the gentleman on these many nights because this is an issue that I feel very strongly about, as the…”

“I accompany the gentleman on these many nights because this is an issue that I feel very strongly about, as the gentleman does; and he has invested much time in this issue. Quite frankly, it is not for us, it is for our constituents who, as the gentleman suggested, when we go home over breaks like this where we are out in the communities, and sometimes we are not even there to talk about this issue, but no matter where we go or what the issue is that we are there to talk about, this is just absolutely on people's minds, and their concerns are getting even greater. I hope that the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen) will join in with this because I think it is important to understand that we are now getting at that point where people are finding out whether or not their Medicare+Choice programs in fact are going to be staying in for the year, and there is a twofold reason that is of concern. It is the only part of Medicare+Choice right now that provides a prescription drug.”