Phil Gingrey: “since May 3, the first day that seniors could sign up for a Medicare prescription drug discount card, I have had the…”

“since May 3, the first day that seniors could sign up for a Medicare prescription drug discount card, I have had the opportunity to hold workshops at senior centers in Smyrna, Cedartown, Rome, Cartersville, Talbotton, and Thomaston, all cities in Georgia's 11th Congressional District. Here is what I tell the people at these town hall meetings: call 1-800-Medicare, everybody can do that, or visit www.medicare.gov on the Web and find out which card will save you the most money and sign up ASAP. It is that simple. All the naysayers want to convince seniors that signing up for the card is too confusing or will not save them any money. I cannot think of any reason why any senior should not sign up for the card. Beneficiaries with incomes of less than $12,000 for an individual or $16,000 for a couple, they get $600 in addition to the discount on the card. That is a total of almost $20 million in additional help for 16,500 seniors in Georgia's 11th District for 2004 and 2005. Yes, we have already seen the power of market forces at work. The prices are coming down, and it is not by government price controls. For seniors who have struggled to buy drugs, they certainly are better off now than they were 4 years ago.”