Political Quotes

“the pattern denying opportunity for full debate and reasonable alternatives continues as we deal with prescription drug benefits for our Nation's seniors. The House will not be permitted to vote on the Democratic prescription alternative. Instead, we will only be allowed to consider the Republican bill, which does not provide a guaranteed drug benefit, instead offering only an HMO-style managed-drugs plan for some. Medicare was created in 1965 because most elderly people could not afford to buy expensive health insurance on the private market. Most still cannot, and we as a Congress should not in fairness impose this flawed plan on seniors. Especially important to Oregon seniors are the regional inequities that already exist in Medicare, and that the Republican bill would allow to grow. Medicare already punishes Oregon for its size and efficiency with a Medicare reimbursement rate that is 66 percent of the national average rate per enrollee. As a result, Oregon seniors lose more than $3/4 of a billion dollars every year. That represents approximately $1,660 per enrollee that ought to be going to medical care and services. We cannot tell how much we will lose under the bill before us today. Their bill allows many different insurance companies to deal with seniors differently from city to city, and state to state. A senior in Oregon might pay significantly more than someone in Louisiana for the same, or even a reduced benefit.”