[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 14945-14946]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           AARP'S CELEBRATION OF MEDICARE'S 36TH ANNIVERSARY

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I am pleased to join AARP, 
including South Dakota's nearly 85,000 members, today to celebrate the 
36th anniversary of the Medicare program.
  I want to applaud the efforts of Don Vogt, Deb Fleming, and all the 
volunteers of South Dakota AARP for the work they do in South Dakota 
and those AARP staff and volunteers around the country that provide 
important assistance to their over 34 million members nationwide.
  As long as we are celebrating important dates in history, I want to 
also recognize and celebrate the 43rd anniversary of AARP this year. 
Since its inception, AARP has had a vision, ``to excel as a dynamic 
presence in every community, shaping and enriching the experience of 
aging for each member and for society.'' I think we can all agree that 
today's celebration is an example of making this vision a reality.
  Most of us here today can remember what life was like prior to the 
Medicare program. While some people may reflect on the good old days of 
housecalls and town doctors, the reality for most seniors was that 
there was very little access to health care coverage. In fact, when the 
Medicare program was implemented in 1965, nearly 30 percent of elderly 
Americans lived below the poverty line and could not afford medical 
insurance coverage. As a result of Medicare's successes over the last 
36 years, the decrease in individual expenditures on health are allowed 
many seniors to maintain their savings longer into their retirement 
years, leading to a dramatic drop in the poverty level of seniors to 
just over 10 percent in recent years. This stark contrast to the number 
of seniors living in poverty prior to the Medicare program is a 
testament to the program's long term success. In addition, elderly 
Americans now maintain healthy, active lives well past the average life 
expectancy of Americans during the first half of the 20th century.
  I do, however, feel that no entitlement program is perfect and 
Medicare is no exception. While I believe that Medicare does an 
outstanding job of providing coverage for its nearly 44 million 
beneficiaries, I think it is possible to improve upon this highly 
effective program. To use a phrase that coincides with the theme of 
this year's Medicare birthday celebration, I believe it is possible to 
have our cake and eat it too.
  Prescription drugs played an extremely small role in health care when 
Medicare was first implemented. Today, prescription drugs play an 
integral part in a wide variety of therapies for illnesses and diseases 
that affect aging populations. But while our Medicare beneficiaries' 
dependence on prescription drugs grows, so has the price of acquiring 
those important therapies. That is why I have introduced several pieces 
of legislation that provide common-sense solutions to the rising cost 
of prescription drugs. My Prescription Drug Fairness for Seniors 
legislation would allow seniors to purchase their prescriptions at the 
same cost as is offered to senior citizens of other industrialized 
nations. Another version of the Prescription Drug Fairness for Seniors 
bill would require that seniors have access to the same prices that 
most favored purchasers like HMOs have. I believe it is wrong that our 
Nation's seniors are forced to pay the highest prices in the world for 
their prescription drug needs, and both of my plans could provide 
immediate financial relief for the nearly 119,000 Medicare 
beneficiaries in South Dakota and the 39 million Medicare beneficiaries 
nationwide.
  I have also introduced legislation that would guarantee greater 
access to generic pharmaceuticals, which play an integral role in 
keeping down the cost of pharmaceuticals. Many seniors have expressed 
to me that if they only had greater access to generics that they could 
get a better handle on their medication costs. This is another way we 
can immediately address the price of prescription drugs without 
additional bureaucratic red-tape.
  There is no question, however, that a comprehensive Medicare 
prescription drug benefit would be a tremendous addition to the 
Medicare program. I have been an ardent supporter of efforts in recent 
years to push forward with a strong, voluntary prescription drug plan 
that gives seniors the option of prescription drugs through Medicare. I 
strongly believe that we must ensure that Medicare beneficiaries have 
access to needed drugs, access to their local pharmacy, and affordable 
premiums that make the program accessible to all. And, perhaps most 
importantly, any benefit must ensure rural beneficiaries, like many on 
Medicare in South Dakota, are assured that they have universal access 
wherever they live.

[[Page 14946]]

  I was pleased to join in AARP's ``Medicare Monday'' celebration. 
Providing Medicare prescription drug benefits is a goal that I share 
with Medicare beneficiaries nationwide, and I will continue my fight 
for lower prescription drug costs until we reach that goal.

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