Val Demings: “This is the final amendment to the bill which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill…”

“This is the final amendment to the bill which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. Mr. Speaker, throughout my 27 years of law enforcement experience, I protected and served my community, and I stand here today to protect the most vulnerable of seniors in central Florida, and seniors all around this Nation. We have a responsibility to see that seniors are not put in a position where they will have to choose between buying food or buying their medication, which was the case before the Affordable Care Act. We must resist all efforts to reopen the Medicare part D prescription drug coverage doughnut hole. This doughnut hole required seniors to pay full price for their prescription drugs after they reach their catastrophic threshold. Research found, because of this doughnut hole, seniors would put their health at risk because they could not afford to pay the prescriptions, which ultimately lead to higher healthcare costs. Because of the Affordable Care Act, this doughnut hole is being completely phased out of the Medicare part D prescription drug program by the year 2020. Since the ACA passed in 2010, closing the doughnut hole has saved our seniors more than $23.5 billion on their prescription drugs. We know this is working. Florida seniors enrolled in the program are now saving an average of $987 a year because of closing the loophole.…”