Janice Schakowsky: “This is not only disgusting, but it is also very costly. We know now that this bill which helps seniors little and…”

“This is not only disgusting, but it is also very costly. We know now that this bill which helps seniors little and pharmaceutical companies and HMOs a lot, is going to cost not $400 billion but about $540 billion. Now is that additional cost meaning that we are going to help seniors more, that we are going to provide a more generous benefit, that they are going to be able to buy their prescription drugs any cheaper? No. The reason that the cost of the Medicare bill has been reassessed is because the cost of prescription drugs are going to go up, so taxpayers are going to have to take more money out of their pocket. The cost to get the HMOs to keep providing the care, because HMO costs go up every year, is going to raise the price of this bill. The other thing that was not talked about that I think a lot of seniors do not get is that the premium can go up every year, the copayment can go up every year. So what may start out as $35 could end up being $85 or even more in a few years.”