David Minge: “I know that in talking with both physicians and with seniors in my area, that often seniors are making a choice between…”

“I know that in talking with both physicians and with seniors in my area, that often seniors are making a choice between groceries and prescription drugs. I hear this over and over. They are amazed at the cost of prescription drugs. They are struggling with how they can find the resources to pay for this, and often they feel that they have to make a decision, are they going to obtain those drugs which are necessary for the maintenance of their health, or are they going to short themselves on the grocery side? Those are their two big sort of inflexible expenditures from the point of view of the larger public. Neither one is really a flexible expenditure. I would like to join the gentleman in really urging my colleagues to take up this question of prescription drugs and how do we deal with it in the Medicare program, and not see the program stumble on the financial side any further. It is really an enormous challenge.”