[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 21006]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

  Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Mr. President, we have been debating important 
issues in the Senate these past few weeks, Homeland Security, and the 
possibility of war in Iraq, and other issues that have resulted from 9/
11. While these important debates take place here on the Senate floor 
and in the kitchens and living rooms across America, there is still 
another longstanding issue that affects the health and livelihood of 
our senior citizens, that of prescription drug coverage for our 
nation's seniors.
  As the end of the legislative year looms closer, I am angry to say 
that we are no closer to having a prescription drug program for our 
seniors. When the Senate debated the addition of a prescription drug 
benefit to the Medicare program in July, there was clear agreement that 
such a benefit was badly needed and that time was of the essence for 
delivering such a benefit to America's seniors. Over several weeks of 
debate on prescription drugs, progress was made toward agreement, but 
unfortunately, the discussion was cut short by the August recess.
  I believe this issue is so important, and so urgent for seniors, that 
I stand before you today to say that this Congress should stay in 
session until we are able to pass a prescription drug benefit for our 
seniors. It is not too late to pass a prescription drug bill this year.
  With the help of new treatments and therapies, it is now possible for 
seniors to live longer and better than at any other time in history. 
Every day that Medicare excludes prescription drugs from coverage is a 
day that countless seniors will not have access to medications that 
could improve their health--or save their lives. In addition, every 
year that passes without adding a prescription drug benefit to 
Medicare, the cost of adding such a benefit increases substantially.
  In recent weeks, there has been a lot of talk about adjusting 
Medicare payments to reimburse health care providers fairly for 
treating seniors. My home state of Oregon ranks 46th in the country for 
Medicare spending per beneficiary. These incredibly low Medicare 
reimbursement rates have made it impossible for some health care 
providers to continue serving Medicare beneficiaries. This means that 
many seniors in Oregon are now having difficulty even finding a health 
care provider to see them. Therefore, I am very supportive of the 
Medicare provider payment components of the package proposed by 
Senators Baucus and Grassley, and I urge passage of this legislation 
before this Congress adjourns. However, I also believe there must be 
renewed interest in reaching a consensus on how to add an affordable, 
universal, voluntary prescription drug benefit to Medicare this year.
  I know we have a lot of work to do this year. Urgent work, important 
work. But I can think of no more important issue than ensuring that our 
parents, our neighbors, our friends, our Nation's seniors, never have 
to lose their homes when they lose their health. We can pass a 
prescription drug bill this year, and we must. I urge my colleagues to 
stay in Washington until we are able to pass a prescription drug 
benefit for our Nation's seniors, and have it signed into law.

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