Political Quotes

“I rise in strong support of S. 984, the Steve Gleason Act, to help thousands of victims of ALS and other related diseases all across the United States. This bipartisan, straightforward bill would give immediate relief to those folks with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, who are facing significant problems accessing necessary medical equipment as a result of three recent changes in Medicare that prohibit access on every level. It is important to note that this wasn't a problem until the administration governing Medicare made it a problem a few months ago. They affirmatively changed policy, changed rules, and created these significant access problems. We are talking about devices that are critical for patients who have lost their ability to speak, to communicate directly with friends, families, doctors, to call 911 in case of emergency, to write letters to loved ones. These devices allow these patients to speak and communicate in light of their loss of voice and other functions. This issue was first brought before Congress last year when thousands of patients, patient advocates, and device manufacturers brought to our attention the devastating consequences of this new Medicare policy. Patients were actually having their devices taken away.…”