Pharmacy News Article

To: HEALTH, AND NATIONAL EDITORS

Contact: Brendan Daly, Nadeam Elshami, or Drew Hammill, all of the Office of the Speaker of the House, +1-202-226-7616

WASHINGTON, July 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ Speaker Nancy Pelosi

released the following statement today to mark the 45th anniversary of

Medicare and Medicaid being signed into law. To mark the anniversary,

the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a new ad

featuring Andy Griffith discussing the Affordable Care Act:

"In enacting health insurance reform this year, Democrats in Congress

and President Obama followed in the footsteps of the architects of

Medicare and strengthened this critical initiative for our country's

seniors. The law secures guaranteed benefits under Medicare, and

closes the prescription drug 'donut hole,' beginning with $250 checks

being sent to beneficiaries this year. Our reforms eliminate co-pays

for preventive screenings and provide better-coordinated care among

different doctors and health care providers. And we have extended the

solvency of Medicare by more than a decade.

"Forty-five years ago today, Democrats and Republicans came together

to create Medicare and Medicaid. Unfortunately, that bipartisan

tradition has now been lost, as Congressional Republicans not only

oppose improvements to our seniors' health care system, but pledge to

repeal them and end Medicare as we know it - leaving seniors on their

own to negotiate with insurance companies for coverage. Democrats will

not let this happen. We will stand with America's seniors to protect

and strengthen Medicare now and in the future.

"When President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law in 1965, our

nation made a bedrock promise to seniors then and for generations to

follow: that after a lifetime of work, Americans could count on the

stability and security of reliable, dependable, high-quality health

insurance. And by passing Medicaid, we worked to ensure that no

American family could be denied medical care due to a lack of means or

income.

"Today, the New Direction Congress continues to uphold, extend, and

strengthen this same legacy, reaffirming our pledge to promote the

general welfare, serve the common good, and preserve the health and

well-being of the American people."

SOURCE Office of the Speaker of the House

-0-