[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 187 (Wednesday, December 7, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H8201]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                MEDICARE TOWN HALL/DOUGHNUT HOLE CLOSURE

  (Ms. HOCHUL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. HOCHUL. Madam Speaker, yesterday I spoke with over 8,000 of my 
constituents during a telephone town hall to talk about the end of the 
open enrollment period for Medicare, which occurs at midnight tonight.
  We also talked about the savings they are now receiving as a result 
of the closing of the legendary prescription drug doughnut hole. More 
than 2.5 million Medicare recipients across the Nation have saved $1.5 
billion on their prescription drugs this year alone. In New York, we 
had 175,000 Medicare recipients, and they received a 50 percent 
discount on prescription drugs, totaling over $113 million in savings, 
an average of $650 per family.
  Yesterday's call was a reminder, when I was talking about Bill from 
Williamsville and Joan from Livingston County, that we have to work 
hard to protect this absolutely critical program that ensures medical 
care for our seniors and allows them to live their later years in 
dignity.
  As my seniors told me: Medicare is not an entitlement; it is a 
program we spent our entire lives paying into. And I, for one, plan to 
protect it.

                          ____________________