Steny Hoyer: “This GOP drug bill is nothing but a candy-coated placebo that fails to cure the problems faces by million and millions…”

“This GOP drug bill is nothing but a candy-coated placebo that fails to cure the problems faces by million and millions of senior citizens who are struggling every single month to pay for life-saving prescription drugs. The American people are just not going to swallow it. If the FDA approved a drug that was this untested and unreliable, there would be an outcry across this great Nation for immediate congressional investigations. Three words say it all: It won't work. This ideological plan--which depends on private insurance drug only policies--even has insurers scratching their heads. As Bill Gradison, our former Republican colleague in this House and the former head of the Health Insurance Association of America, recently said: ``I'm very skeptical that `drug only' private plans would work.'' There's no guarantee insurers will offer drug only policies. There's no guaranteed monthly premium. There's no defined benefit for seniors. There's no guaranteed access to the drugs you need. The only guarantee in this bill is that it would provide inadequate coverage. Everyone of us knows that the Republican party really wants to privatize Medicare. This bill is the first step. A few years ago, the majority leader even told the Chicago Tribune that he ``deeply resents the fact that when I'm 65, I must enroll in Medicare.'' In sharp contrast, Democrats want to create a plan under Medicare that's affordable, guaranteed, universal, and voluntary.”