STATEMENT OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY ON THE NEED FOR A
MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFIT
February 27, 2002
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jim Manley/Stephanie Cutter
(202) 224-2633
 Medicare is a solemn promise to senior citizens. It says, "Work hard. Pay into the system, and we will guarantee you health security in your retirement years." But that promise is broken every day, because Medicare does not cover the cost of needed prescription drugs.
When it comes to prescription drugs, the elderly face a double whammy. Costs are going up, and coverage is going down. Even before the recession, private retiree health coverage was collapsing. Now a wave of corporate bankruptcies is leaving more and more retirees out in the cold. Only a Medicare prescription drug benefit can provide the safe, solid, affordable coverage senior citizens need. Mending the broken promise of Medicare should be a bipartisan priority. But under the President's program, tax cuts for the wealthy come first and prescription drugs for the elderly come last. The Administration's budget calls $600 billion for more tax breaks for the wealthy, but less than one-third that amount for prescription drugs. That's the wrong priority. It's less than the Republican Congress authorized just last year -- and it is much, much less than senior citizens need. The Bush Plan would cover less than 13 percent the elderly's prescription drug costs. Trying to meet the needs of senior citizens under the Administration's budget is like trying to fit an elephant into a breadbox. If the Bush program were enacted tomorrow, senior citizens would still be forced to choose between food on the table and the medicines their doctors prescribe. Senior citizens deserve Medicare coverage of prescription drugs. It is a priority for the American people. It is a priority for Democrats. And it should be a priority for the Congress as well. Democrats will fight until the broken promise of Medicare is mended, and every senior citizen can afford the prescription drugs they need. We urge the President and the Republicans in Congress to join us in this fight. |
