Bill Archer: “Mr. Speaker, today 12 million seniors and disabled Americans on Medicare, including 7 million women, have no…”

“Mr. Speaker, today 12 million seniors and disabled Americans on Medicare, including 7 million women, have no prescription drug coverage. For the vast majority of seniors living on fixed incomes, this is a very difficult situation. This bill brings them help. Clearly, Mr. Speaker, now is the time for us to add to Medicare prescription drug coverage. Our Republican bipartisan plan does just that. 5.5 million low-income seniors, almost half of those on Medicare today, are without coverage. They now will have a prescription drug plan. For about the cost of a movie ticket, those seniors will be able to get the medicines that they need, no matter the cost, no matter the illness. We do not just cover low-income Americans. We cover every senior who wishes to enroll. Seniors will be given the right to choose, the right to voluntarily choose the drug plan that works best for them. They will receive a 25 percent reduction in the price of the drugs they buy and the security also of catastrophic coverage in the case of chronic illness or excessively high drug costs.”