| Offices : Beckley • Charleston • Fairmont • Martinsburg • Washington, DC | E-mail Senator Rockefeller |
July 30, 2001
ROCKEFELLER AND WEST VIRGINIA SENIORS UNITE AT AARP RALLY IN CHARLESTON
Senator Repeats Call for a Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit
CHARLESTON, WV – Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) today joined area seniors, local and state officials, and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) officials to celebrate the 36th anniversary of Medicare. The event in Charleston, dubbed AARP’s "Medicare Monday", was part of a national rallying cry to underscore the need for a voluntary, affordable prescription drug benefit within the Medicare program.
"Until Congress enacts a Medicare prescription drug benefit, thousands of seniors will continue to go without the medications they need to remain healthy. Prescription drug coverage is one of the most serious issues facing Congress, and now is the time to act. Seniors cannot afford another year of skyrocketing prescription drug costs," Rockefeller said.
Noting that the President recently proposed a prescription drug discount card as a way to offset some of the costs facing seniors, Rockefeller said that seniors need prescription drug coverage, not a discount card.
"Our average senior in West Virginia spends almost $200 a month on medications. With a discount card, they’ll still have to spend about $160 a month. Saving $40 is great, but that is not enough. $160 dollars is still way too expensive -- and unaffordable for most seniors," Rockefeller said, adding, "A prescription drug discount card doesn’t solve the problem. You can’t treat a hemorrhage with a Band-Aid."
Rockefeller has supported a comprehensive Medicare prescription drug benefit for over a decade and is working in the Senate to secure meaningful prescription coverage for seniors this year. In West Virginia, 98 percent of seniors rely on Medicare for their health coverage.
AARP WV’s State President Bill Davis added, "Medicare has provided stable, reliable coverage for 36 years. But many West Virginians who rely on daily medication to maintain their quality of life realize that there’s a big piece missing from the program---a prescription drug benefit. We’re asking West Virginians to join AARP’s national campaign to add prescription drug coverage to Medicare."
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