Sean Patrick Maloney: “the seniors in my district have made their views on Medicare clear. They believe that it should provide the same…”

“the seniors in my district have made their views on Medicare clear. They believe that it should provide the same coverage for prescription drugs that it does for doctors' appointment and hospital stays. And they think that they should no longer pay the highest prescription drug prices in the world. Unfortunately, however, the bill before us will provide inadequate benefits that would leave half our seniors paying more out of pocket for prescription drug coverage than they do now. And it contains a gap in coverage that will leave half of seniors without any drug coverage for part of the year. Just as bad, this bill will impose a global ceiling on the size of Medicare. If the overall cost of the Medicare program exceeds a pre-determined cap, Congress will immediately be forced to slash benefits or hike premiums for those currently on Medicare. To add insult to injury, this bill will undermine initiatives to cut the cost of prescription drugs. It would bar by law any effort by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to try to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices. This bill will undermine and ultimately destroy Medicare as we know it. It's not a magic potion. It's a poison pill. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.``”