[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 19]
[House]
[Pages 25981-25982]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        NEW DAY FOR HEALTH CARE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 4, 2005, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Price) is recognized 
during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, contrary to what some of my 
friends on the other side of the aisle do, I like to take this time, 
morning hour, and share a little good news with the American people, 
because this is an exciting day. It is a new day for health care in our 
Nation. It is a day of great opportunity for seniors all across our 
Nation. Today is the first day that seniors all across America are able 
to sign up voluntarily and participate in the new Medicare part D 
prescription drug program.
  As many members of Congress know, I am a third-generation physician, 
and the things that were available to treat patients by my father and 
my grandfather have changed so significantly. The kinds of things that 
I was able to use to take care of patients were remarkably different 
than those that my father and grandfather were able to use. Medicine is 
an evolving science, and it changes almost daily.
  But the Medicare program, like most government programs, has not kept 
up. When Medicare started 40 years ago, there really were very few 
medications that were able to be used to significantly alter the course 
of a disease or to prevent disease. But a lot of things have changed. 
Over the past 40 years, there are wonderful opportunities that have 
been created with the use of drug treatments and medications to prevent 
and cure diseases.
  Yet Medicare, until now, has not covered a single medication. None. 
The Medicare system would cover, for example, the incredibly expensive 
surgery to take care of an ulcer, but it would not cover the 
medications to prevent the ulcer in the first place. That Medicare 
would cover, for example, the expensive hospitalization or potential 
surgery to treat an individual who had a stroke but would not cover the 
medications that were available to prevent a stroke, itself, does not 
make any sense at all. But all that is changing, and all of that is 
changing beginning today.
  I want to stress that this is a voluntary program, a voluntary 
program for all seniors. Most seniors, if they look at the options 
available to them, will be helped significantly and assisted in their 
purchase and the ability to purchase medications by this new program.
  Some might argue that much of this will be confusing, and it may be 
at the beginning. All kinds of programs that start anew oftentimes have 
many things that are confusing in them. However, I encourage my 
colleagues, both in Congress and in the medical profession, to assist 
in educating seniors about the options that are available to them.
  I have held a number of meetings around my district with seniors in 
an effort to try to educate them, and they have wonderful questions, 
will this program help me, how do I know that it will cover the 
medications that I have, how do I sign up, how do I get that 
information.
  If I may pass along a couple of items, the first is the Medicare 
number: 1-800-Medicare. There are many individuals available at that 
line to be able to help seniors. Also, the Web site, www.medicare.gov. 
I was on it just this morning and it has a wealth of information 
available to folks.
  In these meetings that I had, I always had somebody available from 
CMS, or the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, with me to be 
able to help answer questions. But what I was most impressed with, in 
Georgia at least, the vast majority of seniors will be able to have a 
program that is better for them, covers more of their medications than 
they currently have with this Medicare program.
  There are some important dates to remember. Today is the first date 
that is important. Today is the first day that seniors are able to sign 
up for a

[[Page 25982]]

program whose coverage begins on January 1. This window of opportunity, 
that time to sign up, is between now, November 15, 2005, and May 15, 
2006, even though the program begins on January 1.
  Many seniors are currently receiving some prescription drug coverage 
now through a Medicare plus program or a supplemental program. I think 
it is important again for most seniors to appreciate that this program, 
the Medicare part D program, will be better for them than the current 
program that they have.
  Again, 1-800-Medicare is the phone number. The Web site is 
www.medicare.gov. It is important that seniors look at the list of 
medications that they are currently taking and the list of medications 
that are available through the plans that are available to them and 
select one that is able to meld those that is going to cover the 
medications that they have.
  It is an exciting time. It is a great opportunity for all seniors 
across our Nation. I encourage every senior to look at the options 
available to them and make certain that they are selecting a program 
that suits them best. I am hopeful that this will help improve the 
health care and the healthful status of all seniors across our Nation. 
I look forward to watching this program as it unfolds and as it 
evolves, and hopefully this will be an impetus to allow Medicare to be 
a much more nimble program.

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