Political Quotes

“I come to the floor because last fall I indicated that I would come to the floor of the Senate again and again until this body passed bipartisan legislation to make sure the Nation's older people secure prescription drug coverage under Medicare. We have had some very exciting developments on this issue in recent days. I think the reason there is such intense interest in this issue is that while Medicare provides important health insurance coverage for older people, its coverage still today has many gaps. In particular, it doesn't cover prescription medicine. There is not anyone I know today--Democrat or Republican--who would argue that if we are going to redesign Medicare now, we would leave prescription drugs out. Quite the contrary. Virtually everyone who has studied this issue believes prescription drug coverage is absolutely critical because today's medicines are key to keeping older people well. The drugs of the future are going to help lower blood pressure and cholesterol. If an older person suffers a stroke as a result of not having access to those medicines, they could incur expenses of $100,000 or more.”