Ric Keller: “As a congressman from Florida, the State with the largest percentage of seniors, I very much want low cost for…”

“As a congressman from Florida, the State with the largest percentage of seniors, I very much want low cost for prescription drugs. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says this proposal will not lower prescription drug costs at all. Seniors are already getting volume discounts through pharmacy benefit managers and private sector competition. Now the Democrats say: It works at the VA, it will work here. So I looked into that. I happen to take Lipitor for lower cholesterol. It is the number one selling drug in the world. Even Lipitor is not available on the VA formulary. That is because the VA only have a limited number of drugs, and that is why it is cheaper there. It is also why more than 1 million veterans are already getting their drug coverage through Medicare part D. Mr. Speaker, 80 percent of the seniors in this country are happy with their drug plans under Medicare part D, and 75 percent of the seniors in central Florida have signed up for it and like it. If it ain't broke, why are we fixing it? Let us give seniors both choices and low prices. Vote ``no'' on H.R. 4.”