Congressman John D. Dingell Delivers Democratic Radio Response on Prescription Drugs

"Good morning. I’m John Dingell, and it’s my privilege to represent the people of the 16th District of Michigan in the United States House of Representatives."

"Today I’m gathering with senior citizens in Monroe, Michigan and parts of the metropolitan Detroit area."

"There are many issues on their minds this morning. One of them directly affects their pocketbooks: how much they pay for prescription drugs."

"In recent years we’ve seen tremendous advances in medicine that allow serious diseases and conditions to be treated by pharmaceuticals rather than hospitalizations. These advances have saved all of us a lot of money and improved the quality of our lives."

"At the same time, the cost of those pharmaceutical treatments -- the cost of prescription drugs -- has skyrocketed. Too often it means seniors have to choose between treating their high blood pressure or diabetes, and paying the rent."

"That’s a hard choice. But it doesn’t have to be that way."

"This week the Congress began to address the cost of prescription drugs for senior citizens. Except that what the Congress did, didn’t address the problem."

"Let me to use an analogy. Let’s say you want to buy a car. I’m from Detroit, so I want you to buy a fine American-made car."

"So you go to a dealer. And the dealer says, this is going to be your minimum monthly payment."

"And you say, I’d like to know who makes the car, whether it has two or four doors, is it a minivan or sport utility vehicle or sports car, does it have an engine with four or eight cylinders, does it have anti-lock brakes and side airbags, and what does the warranty cover, and the dealer says, "We’ll tell you later. Just give us the money right now."

"Would you close that deal? Of course not. But that’s exactly what my Republican friends in Congress and in the Administration would like you to buy into."

"Don’t take my word for it. The former president of the health insurance trade association, who is also a former Republican Congressman, said last week that, and quote, "I’m very skeptical that ‘drug-only’ private plans would develop."

"Republicans proposed a plan that provides a phantom benefit, that doesn’t tell you what you will have to pay, that doesn’t tell you what you will get, and that relies on private insurance plans -- that don’t exist today -- to give you prescription drug benefits. Insurance bureaucrats will decide what drugs you can get, not your doctors. It will cover a mere 20 percent of senior citizens’ drug costs over the next ten years. And it will do nothing to control the escalating costs of prescription drugs."

"There is a better way. Democrats have a plan that would offer senior citizens the same drug benefits that Members of Congress and other federal government employees get today."

"We say that seniors should be able to choose to pay a voluntary premium of $25 a month, and for that, the government would pay 80 percent of drug costs after a $100 deductible. No senior citizen would have to pay more that $2,000 in costs any year. And because seniors would band together in their collective purchasing power, we would be able to rein in high prescription drug prices. In fact, last week the A-A-R-P wrote to me to say that its members support our efforts to incorporate these provisions in a comprehensive prescription drug plan."

"Straightforward? Yes. Workable? Yes. Can it pass? That’s entirely up to you, Mr. President."