| {WASHINGTON,
D.C. – At a news conference today on Capitol Hill, Chicago city Aldermen
delivered to members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation a petition
signed by 80,000 Chicago seniors calling for a Medicare prescription drug
benefit.
U.S.
Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), other members of Congress representing
the City of Chicago, and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined the Aldermen.
Schakowsky hailed the effort and promised to continue to fight in Congress
for a real prescription drug benefit under Medicare.
“The
Aldermen in Chicago know that the seniors they represent are struggling
every day to pay for their prescription drugs and this petition underscores
that struggle. The Democrats in the Illinois Congressional delegation
will work to deliver to seniors in Chicago and the nation a prescription
drug plan under Medicare that is universal, affordable, and voluntary,”
Schakowsky said.
Yesterday,
Schakowsky, senior citizens from across the country, and Democrats delivered
thousands of letters, receipts, and empty pill bottles sent to Washington
by seniors being gouged by drug companies to Speaker Dennis Hastert asking
him to schedule a vote on a Medicare prescription drug benefit.
Schakowsky
is supporting a plan that would allow seniors on Medicare to choose a prescription
drug benefit in addition to their current plan. Under the plan, Medicare
will pay 50% of all drug costs up to $5,000, and 100% of all out-of-pocket
expenses over $4,000. Premiums for this option will start at $26,
rising to $51 once all benefits are fully phased in. The Republican
leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives has not yet allowed a vote
on the plan to offer a prescription drug benefit under Medicare. |
