John Rice Carter: “I thank the gentleman for his comments, and I certainly appreciate his leadership here in the House. Madam Speaker, as…”

“I thank the gentleman for his comments, and I certainly appreciate his leadership here in the House. Madam Speaker, as you heard earlier from one of our speakers, CMS estimates that this change alone, doing away with the DIR fees--putting the discounts, the rebates, if you will, at the point of sale--will benefit the consumer, benefit the patient, and could save patients $7.1 to $9.2 billion. {time} 1915 Now, let me tell you, that is significant. That is significant for those senior citizens that I was talking about earlier who are trying to make a decision between buying medicine and buying groceries. That is significant to that mother who is trying to buy the medication for her child. Those savings will help. Transparency will help. The savings are going to go much further than just this estimated seven to $9 billion, because as we get better transparency we will get lower drug prices. I am convinced of that. Madam Speaker, my next speaker is a gentleman who certainly understands this issue and has worked closely on it. He has been a champion on this issue. Representative Austin Scott, from Georgia, has gone to great lengths to study this issue. He has met with small pharmacies in his district. He has discussed with them the problem, and he understands it; and we are very, very fortunate to have him and his input. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Austin Scott).”