Political Quotes

“I would like to review this week as it relates to the Medicare prescription drug bill. It started with the Secretary of Health and Human Services announcing on Monday, given the confusion over the Web site that they had put up, that they were going to think about taking it down because there was such confusion out among seniors about the pricing and among the pharmaceutical companies about actually what, in fact, they were offering and whether there was a discount. The Web site was intended, as Tommy Thompson said, to drive prices down. There was such confusion in the marketplace that on the first day, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said we are thinking of taking the Web site down. Then they launched the big discount card that is supposed to provide somewhere between a 10 to 20 percent discount on prices. Every year for the last 6 years, prices of prescription drugs have gone up, on average, 17 percent, somewhere around five times the rate of inflation; and this year it is projected to go up 18 percent, and next year it is projected to go up 20 percent. The card was so confusing that at the Speaker's own town hall meeting, he got into an argument with a senior citizen who said, why do we not just do what Canada does and offer and, in fact, allow us to buy drugs in Canada where they are 30 to 80 percent cheaper?”