Richard Burr: “If there existed truth in advertising on this we would have stars all across this plan because it provides at every…”

“If there existed truth in advertising on this we would have stars all across this plan because it provides at every level what seniors want. Before the gentleman mentioned employers, I had written the word employers on a piece of paper up here because that was one of the biggest challenges that our whole task force had. There is a segment of America, a large percentage of America that are seniors today that are currently provided prescription drugs as a benefit of their retirement. As we see prices go up 11 or 12 percent a year, the question we have to look out and ask is how long will they continue to offer that benefit. Because they are not obligated to, it is just a commitment that they made when individuals retired. We found a way to incorporate into our plan that those employers that provide that benefit, once those individuals reached that stop-loss amount, they would be covered under the Federal stop loss, a great incentive for employers to continue to provide that first dollar coverage for the millions of seniors that are currently under their health plans.”