[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10101]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     SENIORS BENEFIT FROM MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG DISCOUNT CARD

  (Mr. GINGREY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, since May 3, the first day that seniors 
could sign up for a Medicare prescription drug discount card, I have 
had the opportunity to hold workshops at senior centers in Smyrna, 
Cedartown, Rome, Cartersville, Talbotton, and Thomaston, all cities in 
Georgia's 11th Congressional District.
  Here is what I tell the people at these town hall meetings: call 1-
800-Medicare, everybody can do that, or visit www.medicare.gov on the 
Web and find out which card will save you the most money and sign up 
ASAP. It is that simple. All the naysayers want to convince seniors 
that signing up for the card is too confusing or will not save them any 
money. I cannot think of any reason why any senior should not sign up 
for the card.
  Beneficiaries with incomes of less than $12,000 for an individual or 
$16,000 for a couple, they get $600 in addition to the discount on the 
card. That is a total of almost $20 million in additional help for 
16,500 seniors in Georgia's 11th District for 2004 and 2005.
  Yes, we have already seen the power of market forces at work. The 
prices are coming down, and it is not by government price controls. For 
seniors who have struggled to buy drugs, they certainly are better off 
now than they were 4 years ago.

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