[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 15, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H4442]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                    PRESCRIPTION DRUG DOUGHNUT HOLE

  (Ms. SCHAKOWSKY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. About 80,000 senior citizens and people with 
disabilities have already fallen into what we call the doughnut hole. 
What is that? That is a gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage and 
is a result of--you know, we just heard criticism of so-called 
ObamaCare--but the Republicans passed a bill called Medicare part D.
  But what it says is that Mrs. Jones, after a certain amount of money 
that has been spent on her prescription drugs stands in line at the 
drugstore and says, I'm ordering a refill of my prescriptions.
  And the druggist says, Well, Mrs. Jones, that will be $100.
  She says, What do you mean, I thought I was insured?
  They say, Oh, no, you've gone over the amount of money that the 
government will give you, and now you're going to have to pay $3,000-
plus out of pocket in order to get covered again.
  Well, we finally have done something about that, and checks are going 
to start going out this week to people, the 80,000 that have fallen 
into the doughnut hole, of $250 to try and help them pay for that, and 
we're going to ease out the prescription drug doughnut hole.

                          ____________________