[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 45 (Friday, April 2, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H2065-H2066]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG AND MODERNIZATION ACT MEANS QUALITY HEALTH 
                          CARE AT LOWER PRICES

  (Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, the Medicare Prescription 
Drug and Modernization Act not only modernizes the benefits seniors 
receive under Medicare by adding prescription drugs, but, for the first 
time provides seniors, with chronic illnesses, access to state-of-the-
art, cutting-edge, preventive health care.
  With seniors living longer, with one-third of our seniors living with 
five or more chronic illnesses and using 80 percent of Medicare's 
dollars, access to chronic disease management programs is necessary, 
fair, and right.
  By offering such preventive care, made possible by modern technology,

[[Page H2066]]

our seniors can stay healthier, out of the hospital and emergency rooms 
and, while living better through modern medicine, reduce Medicare 
spending. Add this preventive care program to the fact that under this 
bill, one-half of all senior women will receive their prescription 
drugs with no premium, no deductible, and no gap in coverage, and $1 to 
$5 in copayments for generics or brand-name drugs, and our seniors will 
be able to see that the Medicare Modernization Act we passed offers 
them much higher quality health care at lower personal cost.

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