Louise Slaughter: “Seniors, we do know, are drowning from the high cost of prescription drugs and the Republicans are telling them to swim…”

“Seniors, we do know, are drowning from the high cost of prescription drugs and the Republicans are telling them to swim towards an HMO. To paraphrase the old saying, ``Congress giveth and Congress taketh away,'' but in this case it mostly takes away. Congress takes away any hope for meaningful prescription drug coverage. It takes away the existing employer-provided benefits and low-income protections from retirees, and it takes away Medicare as we know it. It lures seniors with the promise of generosity and then gives them a pittance. But when this bill does give, it is wonderfully generous. The Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act is a boon for the pharmaceutical industry and for the insurance companies but does absolutely nothing to control the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs. In fact, the bill forbids the government from doing anything about it. Drug prices have risen dramatically in the last 20 years, increasing 256 percent since 1980. For years seniors have called our Congress to do something about these crushing drug prices, but this plan does nothing to freeze or reduce the out-of-control prices of medications.”