Political Quotes

“there is another law that has an important milestone today and that is Medicare prescription Part D. I remember this bill when it was debated about 2\1/2\ years ago--2\1/2\ years ago on the floor of the Senate--and was passed and enacted by the President. So the administration had 2 years to get ready, 2 years to be prepared for the millions of people under Medicare who would become eligible for a prescription drug benefit. This is an important benefit, one that was not included in the original Medicare legislation. In those days, there were not that many prescription drugs, and they were not that good. Now we have quite a variety of very good drugs available to help the elderly and others stay healthy and strong and independent. So adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare made sense. Keeping people healthy and at home rather than sick and in the hospital or in the nursing home is not only morally right, it makes sense financially. So we passed a bill 2\1/2\ years ago. But it was not a very good one. It was extremely complicated. Imagine, if you will, a bill written by the pharmaceutical industry and the insurance industry. And that is what we ended up with, a bill that allows those two industries to capitalize on opportunities for profit-taking, which they are going to do and already have done. Unfortunately, it is at the expense of senior citizens.…”