Richard Burr: “as vice chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and a member of the Health Subcommittee, I have worked on Medicare…”

“as vice chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and a member of the Health Subcommittee, I have worked on Medicare prescription drug legislation for more than four years. The House has passed Medicare prescription drug legislation twice and I voted for both bills. Mr. Speaker, I will not vote for this bill. The $400 billion allocated for the Medicare drug benefit is not being spent widely under this legislation. High-income Medicare beneficiaries like Warren Buffett are subsidized 73 percent by the Federal government for their drug-only insurance plans. Low-income seniors who are not dually eligible have no cost-sharing assistance for their drug spending between $2,000 and $3,500. The Secretary is commanded to negotiate with insurance companies who will game the system to receive a 99.99-percent subsidy when 73 percent would have been fine. Mr. Speaker, that's not a negotiation--the insurance company will hold all of the cards. No money is being spent on a fallback plan. Seniors in rural areas of North Carolina will not have drug coverage if insurance companies refuse to offer a plan, even when the companies are bribed with an almost no-risk contract. This bill would benefit insurance companies, not extend a benefit to our Nation's seniors. Yet insurance companies do not want any part of this legislation.”