Political Quotes

“Mr. President, as the Senate continues to consider the National Defense Authorization Act, the NDAA, I rise today to discuss an amendment in support of my constituents who are military retirees, as well as military retirees in many other States. My amendment would change a provision being proposed in this bill that requires military retirees and their families who don't have easy access to a military treatment facility, such as on a base, to unfairly pay higher copays for their prescription medications. TRICARE provides health care services for our servicemembers, our military retirees, and their families. Using TRICARE, military retirees can get free prescription drugs at a military treatment facility. In other words, our military retirees who live close to a base have no copays for their prescription drugs. However, if they draw these prescriptions from a retail pharmacy or through the TRICARE-approved mail order system, they are required to make a copayment. My amendment deals with a provision in today's bill that directs the Department of Defense, or DOD, to increase these copayments that military retirees obtain from a retail pharmacy or through mail order rather from a military treatment facility. The provision will require those military retirees who live far away from a base, without easy access to a military treatment facility, to get their prescriptions and to pay more for their use of retail pharmacies and mail order.…”