Eva M. Clayton: “there is a consensus among Members of Congress, in fact, I think there is a consensus among the American people, as well…”

“there is a consensus among Members of Congress, in fact, I think there is a consensus among the American people, as well as the President also says, that Medicare beneficiaries should indeed receive prescription assistance. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that the cost of providing prescription drugs to seniors will certainly be high, and it is unpredictable as to how high it will go; but they have said to how the estimate has been made in the last year, that by the year 2010 we will be 23 percent higher than what we predicted it to be, and already it is too high. Already seniors cannot afford that. This increases the sense of reality that we cannot make long-term predictions nor can we make short-term predictions with accuracy. With that reality, what we know with the combined fact that more baby boomers are retiring among them, are retiring now, more than ever before, they are going to live longer and need more health care; and yet their reliance on Medicaid does not give them any assurance for that. We must ensure that our seniors have the peace and security that they need to have access to affordable prescription drugs for maintenance of a quality of life. We must also work to make sure that they do not deplete their savings and what low income they have from their retirement and their Social Security in order to provide prescription drugs.”