Sam Gibbons: “obviously, I am no medical doctor. Therefore, I would never presume to know what medication, for example, would be…”

“obviously, I am no medical doctor. Therefore, I would never presume to know what medication, for example, would be better to treat the heart condition of a 72-year-old woman in Winnemucca, Nevada. Yet, the Gore plan thinks that Washington bureaucrats should know best which drug should or should not be used by my constituents 2,000 miles away in Nevada. After all, that is what his Medicare Modernization Act calls for, 182 new mandates on prescription drug delivery, including a government formulary to cover prescriptions. If a drug is not listed in the Gore formulary, Medicare will not cover it, and a needy citizen, a senior, will not be able to obtain their life-saving medication. Mr. Speaker, this same plan has failed miserably in Canada and Europe. My fellow citizens in Nevada and across America should not be denied access to the prescription drugs they need by Washington bureaucrats whose only medical credentials are that they have visited a doctor for their yearly physical. I yield back the Gore government-run prescription drug plan that has Washington, D.C. deciding which medicines should be in our cabinet.”