Jeff Bingaman: “we are well past the time when the 39 million older Americans and disabled citizens should be receiving affordable…”

“we are well past the time when the 39 million older Americans and disabled citizens should be receiving affordable, comprehensive, and reliable prescription drug coverage. More than 225,000 of these citizens live in New Mexico. Medicare must be brought into the 21st century and that includes adding a prescription drug benefit. We must pay special attention to the needs of the most vulnerable--low-income seniors and people with disabilities. This is particularly important to New Mexico, where the median income of our senior citizens is just $11,370, or 15 percent below the national average. Under the current system, an unconscionable number of these people are forced to choose every day between filling a doctor's prescription with limited incomes or paying for some other basic need. As we consider the drug proposal before us, there are some important principles that I believe we should adopt. The first principle should be that we ensure that the most vulnerable are protected. That includes the neediest, or poorest, the sickest, or those with the greatest health care needs.”