Political Quotes

“I oppose this legislation, because I believe it will make seniors pay higher prices for their drugs and will restrict their access to the drugs they need. Earlier this week, I met with Dr. Mark McClellan, the former administrator for CMS. Dr. McClellan pointed out to me, while no program is perfect, Part D has proven to be very successful. Premiums seniors pay for the basic drug benefit have fallen over 40 percent from the expected premiums. CMS reports that, on average, beneficiaries are saving nearly $1,100 a year on their drug costs, with many seniors and their doctors having more drugs to choose from under Part D than they did before. Also, Part D cost nearly $13 billion less than expected in 2006, and 10-year costs have been lowered by approximately $180 billion. In order to make drugs cheaper, the Secretary will have to refuse coverage for a number of drugs that are regularly prescribed to seniors. When Medicare's list of covered drugs is shortened, either doctors will be forced to choose cheap drugs which could hurt the welfare of their patients, or seniors will be forced to pay out-of-pocket for many of the important, life-saving medications they need. I urge a ``no'' vote on this harmful legislation.”