Tom Udall: “for far too long, as I traveled around the state of New Mexico, seniors have told me their heartbreaking stories of…”

“for far too long, as I traveled around the state of New Mexico, seniors have told me their heartbreaking stories of being forced to choose between purchasing their medicine and purchasing groceries as a result of the exploding costs of prescription drugs. Today we have an excellent opportunity to address this tragic situation by providing a prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries and put an end to the outrageous dilemma facing our seniors throughout the country. In addition, we have an historic opportunity to modernize the incredibly important Medicare program, including updating formulas for our health care providers in rural areas--an issue that is of particular importance to my constituents and me. Thankfully, H.R. 1 does address the latter concern, but unfortunately falls far short on the critically important issue of prescription drug coverage. The prescription drug benefit provided under H.R. 1 would be the first step toward privatizing one of the most successful government programs in history, leaves seniors at the mercy of insurance companies, forces seniors into HMOs, has an incredible gap in coverage, and does nothing to control the exploding costs of prescription drugs. As such, I am forced to vote against H.R. 1. Under this bill, seniors and disabled Medicare beneficiaries can obtain their prescription drug coverage only from HMOs and private insurance companies.”