Political Quotes

“Mr. President, this morning, the Senate Finance Committee marked up a legislative package that was designed to address the high prescription drug costs, which have become a burden to Americans of all ages. This is part of a bipartisan effort to make targeted reforms to our healthcare system in order to lower costs for patients and taxpayers without interfering with the free market or the beneficial innovation that comes from it. Last month, the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and the Judiciary Committee passed legislative packages that were designed to support this goal. This morning, the Finance Committee passed a package called the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act. This legislation looks specifically at reducing prescription drug prices, particularly out-of-pocket costs, for seniors and children through Medicare and Medicaid reforms. I have heard a lot from my constituents in Texas about the impact of these high costs. Bob from San Angelo told me that both he and his wife have Medicare Part D and are struggling to stretch their retirement incomes far enough to cover the expenses for their prescription drugs. He told me, each month, they pay nearly $800 for Medicare and Medicare supplements. On top of that, they are strapped with high prescription drug costs. In the first 4\1/2\ months of this year, Bob said they spent more than $1,600 on his wife's medication alone. For seniors who live on fixed incomes, these high costs can simply be untenable.…”