[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4120]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG PLAN

  (Mr. PRICE of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, when enrollment began for the new 
Medicare prescription drug plan last November, most American people 
heard only about what was wrong with the program. Now, after 3 months 
in the new program, have you heard the good news?
  Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that 
more than 27 million individuals are now receiving prescription 
benefits under the plan, when before they received none, 1.9 million 
new folks just in the last month alone.
  As more seniors sign up, they are seeing the benefits of the new 
program. A recent report of the New York Times included comments from 
individuals who have signed up and seen their prescription drug costs 
drop dramatically.
  One woman saw her monthly costs drop from $476 to $100 a month. A 
February HHS report announced that the average premium had fallen from 
an estimate of $37 per month to $25 per month in actual cost.
  As this plan moves forward, Congress must make sure that flexibility 
exists to respond to patient needs. We should also share the good news 
because it is the right thing to do.

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