Political Quotes

“Mr. President, there are over 578,000 Nevadans across my State enrolled in Medicare, and their hard-earned Medicare benefits provide coverage for their healthcare expenses. The problem is, when I travel around my State and I speak to Senators, the No. 1 thing that I hear about is how difficult it is to afford the prescription drugs that they need. Let me give you an example. Sue Bird and her husband Tom, they live in rural Nevada in Fernley, NV. Tom has diabetes; and even though they are both on Medicare, covering all their healthcare expenses costs them nearly $1,000 a month. That can be a crushing amount for two retirees on a fixed income. The stress of Tom's diabetes alone affects his blood sugar, but add in the worry over the price of their medication, their dental and vision and other healthcare costs, and it becomes almost too much to handle for them. So why are Tom and Sue's medications so expensive? I will tell you why, and you have heard it from my colleagues over and over this afternoon: Because, year after year, Big Pharma has decided that they need to jack up prescription drug prices. All the while, their executives are raking in millions of dollars in profits. These pharmaceutical companies are driving higher prices. They are forcing millions of older Americans to pay more in premiums and out-of- pocket costs. Our seniors made this country what it is today. Tom is a fourth- generation Nevadan.…”