Frank Pallone: “I am going to be quoting this New York Times article over the next 2 weeks or so because I think that it provides…”

“I am going to be quoting this New York Times article over the next 2 weeks or so because I think that it provides independent backup, if you will, for what I have been saying about the Republican plan. Again, I am glad and I hope the Republicans will bring this up in the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Ways and Means on Wednesday, and that they will bring it to the floor of the House the following week for a vote. Hopefully they will allow the Democrats to bring up our proposal as a substitute so we can have a good debate. If they do that, I will be very happy that at least we have an opportunity. But we have to stress that the Republican proposal is not a Medicare benefit. It is just giving some money to insurance companies, and that is not going to work because the policies are not going to be offered, and seniors are not going to have a benefit. If I can go back to this New York Times article again, and I went through parts of it, but I would like to cover a little more of it. As I said, the headline is ``Experts Wary of GOP Drug Plan. Some Say `Drug Only' Coverage Isn't Affordable for Insurers.''”