Donald Riegle: “I rise today as part of my continuing effort to put a human face on the health care crisis in our country. Today I want…”

“I rise today as part of my continuing effort to put a human face on the health care crisis in our country. Today I want to share the story of Brant and Dorothy Venlet, who are senior citizens who live in Morley, MI. Mr. and Mrs. Venlet are on a fixed income and they are struggling with the out-of-pocket expenses that they have to pay for prescription drugs. The husband, Brant, is 76 years old and his wife Dorothy is 75. They are both covered by Medicare, which currently does not cover prescription drugs. Brant has been retired for 14 years and has been purchasing a MediGap insurance policy to try to pick up what he can of what Medicare does not cover. Mr. Venlet did not get any retiree health benefits because his former employer, a manufacturing company, cut the benefits right before he retired. Brant suffers from kidney failure and he now needs dialysis treatments three times each week. I can tell you from my own family experience that is a very difficult thing to have to go through. Medicare only pays for a portion of the dialysis. So the Venlets need to maintain their supplemental policy to try to cover the additional costs. Unfortunately, Brant and Dorothy, in their midseventies, are not able to afford a supplemental policy that covers prescription drugs.”