| WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today said that seniors
are entitled to an affordable and comprehensive prescription drug benefit
under Medicare. The House is expected to debate and vote on a Republican
prescription drug plan this week that offers neither. The Democrats’
proposal would cover all seniors, offer a guaranteed benefit, and lower
the price of prescription drugs.
Schakowsky
pointed to a Families
USA study released today which found that “the prices for the 50 prescription
drugs most commonly used by seniors have increased considerably faster
than inflation. This finding holds for last year (January 2001 to January
2002), for the past five years, and for the past 10 years. Senior citizens
generally live on fixed incomes that are indexed to keep pace with inflation,
but last year, the cost of the prescription drugs they purchased most frequently
rose 7.8 percent, nearly three times the rate of inflation.”
“The
Republican prescription drug plan is a sham. Ratter than providing
a Medicare benefit, the GOP plan subsidizes drug only insurance plans that
don’t event exit now and probably never will. Seniors can no longer
wait for a real solution while the pharmaceutical companies continue to
raise the price of prescription drugs for those who need them most,” Schakowsky
said. |
