Byron Dorgan: “We have been talking, for a long while, about the health needs of senior citizens who do not have access to prescription…”

“We have been talking, for a long while, about the health needs of senior citizens who do not have access to prescription drugs because they are too expensive. Too many senior citizens are told: You must take prescription drugs for these ailments you have; and they discover: Well, I can't take prescription drugs. I don't have the money. Republicans and Democrats have been debating how to add a prescription drug benefit to the Medicare plan. Today I see the President is going to send us a proposal that says we would like to give everybody a discount card who would qualify under Medicare, and then say to others, if they want to get some real help for real prescription drug coverage, they have to join an HMO or a managed care organization. That doesn't make any sense to me as a matter of public policy. We need to put downward pressure on prescription drug prices first and foremost. Second, I believe we ought to provide a prescription drug benefit in the Medicare Program.”