Karen Thurman: “I find it quite interesting that we are talking about an insurance plan. In this country, we already have these plans.…”

“I find it quite interesting that we are talking about an insurance plan. In this country, we already have these plans. We have Medigap plans, we have Medicare Choice. But the problem is, they failed; and yet this is what we have to vote on again today. That is why this is the hottest issue in the country. Senior groups who have nothing to gain have written and talked to us about why they cannot support the bill in front of us. They do not have any politics in this game. They want a drug benefit. They want to have life-sustaining drugs available to them. So listen to them. The Senior Citizens League says, ``After considerable study, the Medicare RX 2000 Act will do more harm than good to the people that it is intended to help.'' How about Families of USA? They said, ``This proposal has all the attributes of a mirage. It looks inviting from a distance, but once you get up close, you realize there is nothing there. What is more, consumers do not know what they will actually get out of this. The Republican proposal leaves the actual benefit undefined.'' How about the Older Women's League who actually says, ``the Republican prescription drug plan does not represent a defined benefit added to the Medicare program but, rather, a private insurance program.''”