[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15291-15292]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS

  Ms. STABENOW. Madam President, I want to take a few moments, as we 
are working in earnest this week to complete the session and focus on 
where we are as it relates to the critical issue of prescription drug 
coverage and making sure that our seniors have help in Medicare and 
also that we are lowering prices for everyone. This has been quite a 
challenge for us.
  We knew when we started, we were facing daunting odds; that the 
system, as it is situated right now, heavily favors the industry and 
that as a result of the fact that it heavily favors them, and the rules 
favor them and allow them to stop competition and to be able to set 
prices on Americans much higher than in other countries, we knew this 
was going to be an uphill battle.
  We often talk about the fact that there are six drug company 
lobbyists for every one Member of the Senate and what that means in 
terms of challenges. But we have an opportunity today, and many of us 
have been working across the aisle in good faith. In fact, I would say 
everyone has been working in good faith. There are different 
philosophies--two very different approaches--that are being developed. 
But everyone is working in good faith to try to get something done. I 
think today is the day when we really decide are we going to at least 
take the first step. If we can't get all the way there, to give 
comprehensive Medicare coverage for all seniors and disabled, we have 
to at least begin the process to do that.
  We are being called upon by AARP and the other senior groups to at 
least take the first step. So we are working hard today. I commend my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have been working with us to 
be able to do that. We still have two different philosophies--one put 
forward predominantly by our colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
and by the House Republicans, which I believe moves us in the direction 
of privatizing Medicare. It would use private sector insurance, HMOs, 
as the mechanism for providing prescription drug coverage.
  In my home State, we have seen Medicare+Choice, basically a failure 
in terms of covering people, pulling out. My own mother was in the 
program and lost her HMO coverage. We have seen over and over again 
where the private sector market has not worked for our seniors as it 
relates to Medicare.
  I argue that it is the wrong direction to go to try to prop up this 
system--private sector HMOs. There have been proposals that would prop 
them up to the tune of Medicare paying 99 percent--covering 99 percent 
of the risk in order to go through private insurance companies. To me, 
that seems a little ridiculous.
  What we should be doing is what seniors across the country are asking 
us to do and that is update Medicare. We have had colleagues who have 
called Medicare a big government program. As I have said before, I 
believe it is a great American success story--Medicare and Social 
Security.
  So we have an opportunity today to begin to modernize Medicare. I 
hope we are going to do that. Ultimately, we know that Medicare--the 
health care system for older Americans--needs to cover prescription 
drugs for everyone on Medicare. But at a minimum, we need to start with 
our lower income

[[Page 15292]]

seniors, who are deciding: Do I eat or get my medicine? Do I pay the 
utility bills or pay the rent? Maybe I should cut my pills in half. 
Maybe I should ask for a 1-week supply instead of a month. Maybe I will 
share them with my spouse because we both need the same blood pressure 
medicine.
  There are so many real stories. I have read many of them on the floor 
of the Senate--real-life stories of people in Michigan who are 
struggling to make life-and-death decisions.
  We have an opportunity at least to do something for them. We have an 
opportunity also for those who are the sickest, who have the biggest 
bills, who are finding themselves trying to decide between having their 
home, their retirement, being able to have any life whatsoever, or 
having thousands and thousands of dollars in drug bills. We have the 
opportunity to, as well, put in place for everybody the ability to know 
that they will not lose their home or their retirement and savings as a 
result of the cost of their medicine.
  If we could simply start with the neediest and the sickest under 
Medicare, I believe that would be a wonderful first step for us and 
something we could do today in a bipartisan way within the integrity of 
Medicare.
  I hope, Madam President, we will take the challenge that the seniors 
are calling on us to do across the country: To step up and provide 
leadership, to do more than talk, and begin to get something done for 
the seniors and others on Medicare.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the time 
from 10:40 a.m. to 11:10 a.m. shall be under the control of the Senator 
from West Virginia.
  Mr. BYRD. I thank the Chair.

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