Political Quotes

“I would like to focus on one misconception about this plan that we are debating today and set the record straight. I have heard from a lot of retirees who have been led to believe that enacting the conference agreement will cause them to lose their employer-provided prescription drug and health care coverage. That is not true. First, it is important to note that under current law, employers who provide solid retiree health care benefits receive no assistance at all from the Federal Government. And even in the absence of a Medicare prescription drug plan, many of these same employers under increasing pressure from rising prescription drug and other related health care costs are already cutting back or entirely dropping their coverage that they provide to their retirees today. Under this plan if we pass it today, the Federal Government will partner with employers who maintain or improve their current health care retiree health plans. They will receive a subsidy of up to 28 percent of their retiree drug costs between $250 and $5,000 and the subsidy will not be subject to taxation. So the reality is if we do not enact this plan, there will be no incentives for those employers to maintain or improve their current retiree coverage. Thousands of retirees will wind up with no help with their prescription drug costs, and we most likely will continue to see those retiree benefits continue to be slashed. With this plan, they will have an incentive to keep it.”