[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 54 (Friday, May 3, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        OLDER AMERICANS MONTH AND AFFORDABLE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. EARL POMEROY

                            of north dakota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 2, 2002

  Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Speaker, May is Older Americans Month, and I would 
like to take this opportunity to recognize our parents, grandparents, 
and all others who have gone before us, protecting and nurturing us 
through good times and bad, and providing opportunities for younger 
generations to grow and live responsible, comfortable lives.
  Our responsibility, in return, is to ensure that our parents and all 
older Americans live the rest of their lives free from overly 
burdensome financial concerns related to their health. Yet today, one 
of the greatest worries of older Americans is how to pay for 
prescription drugs since Medicare does not provide for this most basic 
need. On average, one in three Medicare beneficiaries have no drug 
coverage for the duration of any given year; nearly half have no 
coverage for some portion of the year. Of those who have coverage, most 
have it from their employer. Seventeen percent are covered by Medicare 
HMOs. But in North Dakota, very few of our seniors have employer-
provided prescription drug coverage and none of the Medicare 
beneficiaries in North Dakota have access to a Medicare+Choice plan 
offering drug coverage. In my state that has the highest per capita 
population of seniors, M+C plans offering drug coverage are not an 
option!
  The need for a comprehensive prescription drug benefit is clear. 
Older Americans make up 13 percent of the population but account for 34 
percent of all prescriptions dispensed and 42 cents of every dollar 
spent on prescription drugs. Seniors in my state, Mr. Speaker, are 
regularly forced into the absurd choice of paying for their 
prescription drugs or covering their food and rent for the month. This 
is no choice at all and we should be ashamed for allowing it to come to 
that.
  This month, the Alliance for Retired Americans and other groups will 
provide buses for seniors from states that border our northern 
neighbor, including North Dakota, to travel to Canada to fill their 
prescriptions. It is an embarrassment to our health care system that 
older Americans must leave the United States in order to purchase 
affordable prescription drugs. We must correct this by including 
meaningful prescription drug coverage as a standard option to all 
Medicare beneficiaries.
  Many states have become frustrated by the lack of action here in the 
nation's capital. They are trying to take steps on behalf of their own 
citizens to curb prices. But, they are facing challenges in the courts 
and in the press. States are trying their best to make drugs affordable 
to seniors, but this is a national crisis. The Congressional Budget 
Office estimates that prescription drug prices will incur double-digit 
inflation each year over the next decade. This crisis is only getting 
worse and we must act now to protect our seniors today, and in the 
future.
  Congress has the authority to make an affordable and comprehensive 
prescription drug benefit available to all Medicare beneficiaries. We 
have the authority, now we must show we have the will. Let's not kid 
ourselves: a meaningful prescription drug benefit is going to be very 
expensive--the $350 billion some are talking about probably isn't even 
in the ballpark. We must make some hard--and responsible--budgetary 
decisions to fund such a plan, but our seniors deserve nothing less. 
Mr. Speaker, let us honor older Americans by enacting a comprehensive, 
affordable, and voluntary Medicare prescription drug benefit.

                          ____________________