Political Quotes

“Today is the opening day for the new Medicare prescription drug plan D, and it is a day of great concern across America for millions of senior citizens who want to get it right. They believe, as I do, that Medicare should include a prescription drug benefit. It is almost hard to believe that a program that has been in existence for 40 years basically does not provide prescription drug coverage, but it started in a day when there were not that many prescription drugs and they were not as good. Today, we realize that often taking the right medication can make a person independent, strong, and living the life they want to live and avoiding doctors' care and hospital care. So it is certainly the thing to do. We have known it for a long time. We have talked about it for a long time. We debated it over 2 years ago and decided to pass this approach to Medicare prescription drug benefits. I do not think we could have dreamed up a more complicated approach for a benefit that is basically pretty straightforward. Many of us thought the plan we passed here in Congress was just a sop or a favor for the pharmaceutical industry. They wanted to be able to offer plans all across America and say to seniors: Come and figure out which one is best for you. Well, the problem, of course, is that there are hundreds and hundreds of plans across America. And now senior citizens, some of whom are not in the best shape physically, are forced to make a call.…”