Tina Smith: “I rise to respond to the Senator from Michigan. I think she makes a number of points that are worth our consideration. I…”

“I rise to respond to the Senator from Michigan. I think she makes a number of points that are worth our consideration. I think this can be done through the Government route. But the grand experiment here is predicated on a belief that the marketplace can actually work. If we were to adopt the Stabenow amendment, it would clearly undermine the private sector from forming plans and offering prices which have the potential of very real savings for our seniors and providing us with some very real reforms which seniors are counting on; that is, that we provide this benefit without undermining the financial integrity of Medicare. We need to make up our minds. We can either go the Government route or we can go the market route. The Government route can work but it comes at a cost that is, frankly, hard to calculate. Even as we speak, right now on Part B Medicare, the Government is looking at gross overpayments already on prescription drugs and is having to make reimbursements because of that. Imagine all of the inefficiencies that would be infused into the system if we relied upon the Federal Government to manage every prescription drug for every senior in this country. If they are overpaying on one and wasting money at the same time, I hate to think of the bill the Federal Government would have to foot if we did this for every senior on the basis that the Senator is describing.”