[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6690]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



     LACK OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG INSURANCE COVERAGE IN MEDICARE, AN 
                 INTOLERABLE SITUATION IN AMERICA TODAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss an intolerable 
situation in America today, the lack of prescription drug insurance 
coverage in our Medicare program. Seniors are simply not receiving the 
prescription drug coverage that they so desperately need. Prescription 
drugs did not play a significant role in health care when Medicare was 
created back in 1965, but today the advances in pharmaceuticals have 
made prescription drugs a fundamental part of the typical senior's 
health care.
  While seniors represent only 12 percent of the population, they 
account for more than one-third, more than one-third, Mr. Speaker, of 
the prescription drugs used in our country each year.

                              {time}  1630

  The typical American who is 65 or older uses 18 prescription drugs a 
year, and 85 percent of the beneficiaries of Medicare fill at least one 
prescription per year for such conditions as osteoporosis, 
hypertension, heart attacks, diabetes, or depression. It is obvious, 
Mr. Speaker, that the need is there for prescription drug coverage.
  We must defend the seniors of America from the rising costs of 
medicine, which monthly worsens the situation for those without 
prescription drug coverage. The price for the 50 drugs most commonly 
used by seniors increased at nearly twice the rate of inflation last 
year. The prices for prescription drugs rose faster than any other 
category of health care, increasing by more than 15 percent, while 
total health care costs rose by less than 6 percent.
  In my San Diego Congressional District on the United States-Mexico 
border, thousands of our citizens are forced to cross the international 
border to find the drugs they need at a much lower cost. Why is such a 
trip necessary for American citizens? How can seniors find the money 
that they need to purchase these vital drugs? Many are on fixed 
incomes. Many do not have the choice of a high paying job with good 
private medical plans.
  Think about your parents; think about your grandparents. We are 
forcing them to choose between food on the one hand and essential 
prescription drugs that protect their quality of life on the other. Mr. 
Speaker, this is a choice that no American should have to make.
  The President has proposed a plan that would extend prescription drug 
coverage to all seniors, provide lower premiums for Medicare 
beneficiaries and contain the rising costs of pharmaceuticals. Let us 
work together to make life-saving prescription drugs available to all 
of America's seniors.

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