[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11356]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    SUPPORT THE MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFIT AND DISCOUNT ACT

  (Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, Congress must add meaningful prescription 
drug coverage to Medicare. Prescription drugs can cost as much as $500 
per month; and in Rhode Island alone, 200,000 seniors lack drug 
coverage.
  A study I commissioned last year found that the uninsured elderly in 
the district of Rhode Island pay an average of 78 percent more for the 
most commonly used prescription drugs than do seniors in foreign 
countries.
  That is why I support the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit and 
Discount Act which adds a new part D in Medicare that provides 
voluntary prescription drug coverage for all beneficiaries. It includes 
a premium of just $25 a month, which would be subsidized for low-income 
seniors. It has a $2,000 out-of-pocket limit per beneficiary per year.
  In contrast, the Republican plan would require high out-of-pocket 
costs for seniors while offering low benefits.
  We must ensure that seniors do not have to choose between food or 
rent and getting their prescriptions filled. We must provide meaningful 
drug coverage.

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