[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 22269]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                           PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Stabenow) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. Speaker, for the past six months, I have been 
reading letters on the floor of the House of Representatives from 
senior citizens from all over the state of Michigan. These seniors have 
shared their stories with me about the high cost of prescription drugs. 
They all have one thing in common: these seniors rely solely on 
Medicare for their health insurance, so they do not have any 
prescription drug benefit. They must pay for their prescription drugs 
themselves, and with the high prices, they often are forced to make 
decision between buying the prescription drugs they need or buying food 
or heating their homes. We must enact a voluntary, Medicare 
prescription drug benefit that will provide real help for these 
seniors.
  This week, I will read a letter from Mary Hudson from Fenton, 
Michigan.
  I understand that Mary currently does not fill most of her 
prescriptions because she cannot afford them.
  Sometimes, her son buys her medication for her and sometimes she goes 
without.
  If Mary did purchase all of the prescription medication she needs, 
her bills would be approximately $1715.40 per year.
  I will now read Mary's letter. ``Dear Debbie, Last summer, I went to 
a doctor with bladder problems and high cholesterol and was given 
prescriptions cost $44--which I got filled--but the other was $90--
which I would not. Who can afford those prices and pay other bills too?
  Thanks for your interest in seniors, Debbie, and for anything you can 
do to help us. Love, Mary.''
  Mary deserves a genuine Medicare prescription drug benefit. Time is 
running out to do something in this Congress. We must enact real 
prescription drug reform before we adjourn.

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