Health Insurance Reform Will Help Seniors

Floor Speech

Health Insurance Reform Will Help Seniors

Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to talk about how the health insurance reform will help our Nation's seniors.

We have all heard about the dreaded Medicare part D doughnut hole--the gap in prescription drug coverage that 7,300 seniors a year in my congressional district alone face. Seniors who fall in the doughnut hole must cover the full cost of their prescription drugs, forcing many to cut back on their prescription use.

H.R. 3200 fills in the doughnut hole, shrinking it over several years until there is no interruption in prescription drug coverage for our seniors. Until the doughnut whole is completely filled, H.R. 3200 also offers discounts on brand-name prescription drugs to seniors who fall into that doughnut hole.

H.R. 3200 also makes great strides in improving the care Medicare patients receive. It includes provisions that encourage doctors to spend more time with their patients and to check up with them more frequently. Accountable care organizations and medical homes in the bill will promote coordination of care amongst the different health care professionals and result in better health care outcomes for Medicare patients.

I am proud to support this bill and encourage my colleagues to do the same

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