On the recordApril 13, 2000
Some might say this is not much money. But let's take a look. What could a senior do with $96.83 each month? You can see that this is a lot of money when you think of how it would impact other expenses seniors have. These numbers come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Surveys. Finally, Mr. President, we will look at annual deductibles. Smith-Allard combines the hospital, medical, and drug benefits into a single deductible. Because seniors spend an average of $670 per year, they would just about reach the full hospital and medical deductible with just drug expenses. Under the Clinton plan, drugs don't count toward the deductible, so even though seniors would have a 50 percent drug benefit, they would not be paying down their deductible. I have talked about this plan with seniors, and they understand this concept. They love it.
Source
govinfo.gov
