| 00:00:01 | CANADA AND WHAT IT COSTS IN MEXICO. |
| 00:00:04 | JUST RECENTLY WE'VE ALSO LOOKED AT ANOTHER STUDY WHICH IS ACTUALLY -- AND HAVE DONE IT THROUGH THE STATE OF FLORIDA AND LOOKED AT PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFIT FOR SENIORS AND SAID THIS ISSUE IS GETTING MORE DIFFICULT BECAUSE WE'RE GETTING MORE SENIORS LOSING THEIR COVERAGE AND PROBABLY A LOT BECAUSE OF THE PULLOUTS OF OUR H. |
| 00:00:33 | M.O. MANAGED CARE -- OR MANAGED CHOICE PROGRAM. |
| 00:00:37 | THE SURVEY COLLECTED DURING 1999 SHOWED THAT 41% OF THE MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES SERVED -- SURVEYED IN FLORIDA REPORTED NOW THEY HAD NO PRESCRIPTION DRUG AND IN 1998, THAT WAS 29%. |
| 00:00:52 | OF SURVEYED FLORIDA SENIORS REPORTED THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE. |
| 00:00:58 | SO JUST ONE YEAR LATER, WE'VE ALREADY SEEN AN INCREASE TO 41%. |
| 00:01:03 | THAT'S ALMOST 50% OF THE POPULATION OF SENIORS IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA. |
| 00:01:08 | IT WOULD SEEM TO ME, AND WHAT I'M MOST SADDENED ABOUT IS THAT WE LEAVE THE 106TH CONGRESS AFTER DEBATING, AFTER RECOGNIZING THE PROBLEM, STILL WITH NO PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFIT, NO RELIEF IN SIGHT. |
| 00:01:27 | AND FOR WHY NOT, I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO TELL THEM AT HOME. |
| 00:01:32 | BECAUSE THEY WOULD NOT HAVE ACCEPTED THE BILL THAT WAS PASSED ON THIS HOUSE. |
| 00:01:38 | THEY UNDERSTAND TO DEPEND ON THE VERY SAME PEOPLE WHO HAVE LEFT THEM OUT WITH MANAGED CARE AND INSURANCE COMPANIES IS UNACCEPTABLE. |
| 00:01:48 | THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: THE GENTLEMAN'S TIME HAS EXPIRED. |
| 00:01:50 | MR. |
| 00:01:51 | PALLONE: THANK YOU, MR. |
| 00:01:53 | SPEAKER. I WANT TO THANK MY COLLEAGUE. |
| 00:01:55 | THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: UNDER THE SPEAKER'S ANNOUNCED POLICY OF JANUARY , 1999, THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE GENTLEMAN FROM COLORADO, MR. |
| MCINNIS, FOR 60 |
Mrs. THURMAN. I appreciate the gentleman yielding. We have been doing a lot of surveys and different studies across the country, and then in particular within our districts, by the governmental operations staff to look at the different costs of what it costs in the United States for medicine, what it costs in Canada and what it costs in Mexico.
Just recently we have also looked at another study which has been done through the State of Florida, and looked at the prescription drug coverage for Florida seniors. I found it very interesting, which just tells me this issue is getting more difficult because we are getting more seniors who are losing their coverage, and probably a lot because of the pullouts of our HMO-managed care, managed-choice program.
The survey collected during 1999 showed that 41 percent of the Medicare beneficiaries surveyed in Florida reported now that they had no prescription drug coverage, and in 1998 it was 29 percent of surveyed Florida seniors that reported that they did not have. So just 1 year later, we have already seen an increase to 41 percent. That is almost 50 percent of the population of seniors in the State of Florida.
It would seem to me, and what I am most saddened about is, that we leave the 106th Congress after debating, after recognizing the problem, still with no prescription drug benefit, no relief in sight, and for why not, I do not have the answer, and I do not know what to tell them at home. It is because they would not have accepted the bill that was passed on this House. They understand that to depend on the very same people who have left them out with managed care and insurance companies, it is unacceptable.
END