Pelosi Remarks at Press Conference To Announce Health Bill Will Begin Closing Donut Hole for Seniors Immediately;
Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami/Drew Hammill, 202-226-7616
Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, Congressman Ron Klein, and AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond held a press conference this morning at the Capitol to discuss the immediate closure of the Medicare Part D "Donut Hole" with the health insurance reform legislation pending before Congress. Below are the Speaker's opening remarks, closing statement and a question and answer session:
Announcing That Health Reform Bill Will Begin to Close Donut Hole for Seniors Immediately:
". . . Today, we're announcing that our health insurance reform bill will begin closing the Medicare Part D 'donut hole' immediately. As of January 1, 2010, our legislation will give a 50 percent discount for brand-name drugs to recipients in the donut hole and it will reduce the size of the donut hole by $500. The House bill will completely eliminate the gap in coverage in 10 years - five years faster than was originally intended in HR 3200."
Speaker Pelosi Opening Remarks:
"As you know, Members of Congress are working around the clock to produce health insurance reform legislation that will improve quality, lower cost, expand coverage, and retain choice. If you like what you have, you can keep it. In order to do that, though, we must lower cost. And that is what our work is about. The CBO has given us preliminary numbers confirming that we will meet our goals. Our principles in this legislation are affordability for the middle class, responsibility to our children - not to add one dime to the deficit - and security for our seniors. We will soon move ahead with this historic legislation. It sits very comfortably in a path from Social Security, Medicare, health care reform.
Today, we are announcing - talking about security for our seniors. An important part of that is reducing the cost of prescription drugs for our seniors. Today, we're announcing that our health insurance reform bill will begin closing the Medicare Part D 'Donut Hole' immediately. As of January 1, 2010, our legislation will give a 50 percent discount for brand-name drugs to recipients in the donut hole and it will reduce the size of the donut hole by $500. The House bill will completely eliminate the gap in coverage in 10 years - five years faster than was originally intended in HR 3200. This is one of the improvements from the original bill to now. The first bill was good, this is much better.
These changes mean that 1.1 million seniors will avoid falling into the donut hole in 2010. Over 1 million seniors. And the 3 million seniors still affected by this gap will reap the benefits of lower costs, more coverage, and better benefits-while their coverage gap closes fully by 2019.
I am very honored to be here with my colleagues, Mr. Clyburn, the distinguished Whip of the House, who is busily counting opinions and we will be joined by Leader Hoyer, who has been a champion on seniors issues as well. We are so pleased to be joined by one of our newer Members, Congressman Ron Klein of Florida, who too has been a champion for our seniors issue. I am very grateful that we are joined by Nancy LeaMond from AARP who will speak to this important issue as well. We thank AARP for its leadership on behalf of America's seniors.
With that, I am pleased to yield to the distinguished Whip of the House, Mr. Clyburn."
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Speaker Pelosi Closing Statement:
"Thank you very much, Nancy. Leader Hoyer is engaged in a colloquy, which was supposed to be brief, but I guess it's not. So he will be joining us momentarily. In the meantime, I want to thank Mr. Clyburn, our colleague Mr. Klein, and Nancy LeaMond for their contributions to the conversation.
When Mr. Clyburn was speaking, I was remembering that we were gathered here a few weeks ago when Mr. Dingell joined us and he had the gavel that he used to gavel down the Medicare law. He was in the chair. And he then read - as he showed us the gavel - he then read the statements that were made at the time by the Republicans in the House about Medicare and how destructive it would be and how horrible an option is was and well, I won't go into - we'll probably do it another time. But the fact is that those who opposed Medicare are now opposing health insurance reform for all Americans - the next logical step. The American peoples' needs must be served. This is very relevant to their needs and we're very proud of how Members are coming together to support a bill that, again, meets affordability to the middle-class, responsibility to our children, and security for our seniors - improving their benefits, beginning to close the donut hole immediately and prolonging the strength and solvency of Medicare for five more years.
With that I would be pleased to take any questions."
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Question and Answer Session:
Q: "reports this morning that you are going in another direction on the public option's negotiated rate because you don't have 218 or 220 [inaudible] the public option. Is that true? Are you going another route on the public option?
Speaker Pelosi. Well, we had a very, I think, congenial - is that the word? - for a Caucus - a very lively and friendly Caucus this morning where we are continuing to count the votes on this. No. No decision of that kind has been made. The robust public option is, in my view, a preferred way to go because is saves the most money - $110 billion. It's not the only way to go and at the end of the day we will have a public option in our legislation to keep the insurance companies honest and to provide real competition. Again, it's good, better, best. We're having that debate and Members have to reflect and represent their districts and we're hearing from them, but by no means is the count complete or any decision been made. And I'm sure that Mr. Clyburn, the Whip, who knows these numbers into the - when I said, "around the clock" I was thinking of him for sure.
Mr. Clyburn would you like to speak to that point?
Majority Whip Clyburn. I would be glad to, Madam Speaker. Way back when we first started to seriously consider this health care reform legislation - if you recall we went out of here for the August break and we had some very contentious town hall meetings around the country. When we got back here, after Labor Day, I remember the headlines: "Health Care Reform Dead". All over we got those headlines. About two weeks later, the headlines shifted a little bit. We may get health care reform in some form, but there won't be a public option. That is - and this is an exact quote: "Off the table" - a public option off the table. Kind of interesting.
Today, we're now having our efforts evaluated as to whether or not we will get this form of a public option, or that form of a public option. From day one, we have had three or four different kinds of public options under discussion. The so-called "robust plan" that you refer to, defined as Medicare plus five, has been scored. We have scored negotiated rates for a public option. A second form - what I have been calling a "hybrid" public option. We have had four public options. One with a trigger - that would be the third one. And a fourth one"
Speaker Pelosi. Beginning with negotiated rates
Majority Whip Clyburn. Beginning with negotiated rates, with a trigger for the so-called Medicare plus five reimbursement. And the fourth one is negotiated rates plus 150 percent of Medicare.
We've had these four issues our here all the time and what we have been doing is surveying our Members to see the preferred approach to the public option. It's kind of interesting, while all of this has been going on, the Senate has gone all the way from absolute no chance of a public option passing the Senate, to now they are saying a form of public option, will in all probability, pass in the Senate.
So we have gradually informed our Members and the public as to what we're trying to do and we're trying to find out which one of these approaches will best suit the most people in our Caucus.
So we have not issued any count. And I've been surprised at that because we have not issued any count as to which procedure or which form of a public option has what number of votes. We are still in the process of determining which public option best suits the job of our Caucus.
Q: I had a question. Back to the donut hole. Ms. LeaMond mentioned that only 4 percent of beneficiaries come through the "donut hole" right now?¦
Majority Whip Clyburn. No, it's another 4 percent get out of it.
Q: What do you think?¦
Majority Whip Clyburn. ¦once they get in. Only 4 percent will ever get out.
Q: What do you propose will [inaudible] the numbers coming out on the other side? And second, what was the cost of this new [inaudible] in your moving up schedule on phasing out the donut hole? What does that cost?
Speaker Pelosi. Well, it's just to make the point that 1.1 million people will be affected directly. As I mentioned, 1.1 million seniors will be immediately affected and relieved of that burden and then over 3 million more will have an impact on their cost. We have, as I said, security for our seniors is one of our priorities in this legislation and when we have our bill, you will see, insurance reforms coverage pay-fors and you will see how all of this relates.
But I am not going to mention that right now.
If I may just go back to the public option for a moment. Part of the decision is not just about votes, because that's one thing. We have a very strong Democratic majority here. Part of it is the end game of conference. I think it is really important to note this because as Mr. Clyburn has said, the atmosphere has changed. When we were dealing with the idea that the Senate would have nothing, it was really important, again, to go in with the most muscle for the middle-class, with the robust public option. Since the Senate is now talking about including - and I don't know if they will - you know they're behind closed doors - but the conversation - they have in their health bill a public option which is very similar to the Energy and Commerce Committee public option on our side.
Since that is now a possibility, a strong possibility, then I have to, again, discuss with my colleagues what's the best approach to conference. If we think it is negotiated rates at the end of the day, would we like to shape that outcome, but with our own negotiated rates? Or do we still think that it is better to go to the table with that?
So this is about the end game now. It's not necessarily - because there's no philosophical difference between the robust public option and negotiated rates. It's just a difference in money and money is important. Money is important and that's why we've had to have four different versions because responsibility for our children is critical in terms of, of course, the bill will be paid for over 10 years, it will reduce costs, but also will not add a dime to the deficit in the out years.
So the impact fiscally and the impact on the end game is part of the discussion we're having with Members. That may be a little more on the subject than you want to know. I could argue that - sometimes I could argue it either way and a lot of it depends on the progress that the Senate is making.
Q: [Inaudible. Question was about the Senate passing a public option that gives states the opportunity to opt out.]
Speaker Pelosi. I don't think there is much problem with that. I have not . . .
Majority Whip Clyburn. That is a procedural question. They will still have negotiated rates for the public option. All their debate is whether or not to allow states to opt out of it but you will still have the same public option. I suspect that on the House side, we will do a form of a public option, and as the Speaker says, we have no idea what the Senate will do. But all of that will be subject to the conference.
Q: It sounds like [inaudible.]
Majority Whip Clyburn. Well so long as we get a public option. I suspect that what we are doing is trying, as we said, we are trying to get competition into the market. I can't imagine any state saying to its citizens: we are going to expose you to less competition or no competition. And so, I suspect that when you get to a conference you see exactly what it is that you are trying to negotiate. And I don't know if the Speaker will honor me with being present on that conference, so I don't . . .I am doing a little lobbying here today. So, I am not about to tip my hand as to whether or I favor it or not. Because I want to be, stay close to the Speaker.
Speaker Pelosi. But there will be a public option. There were two people that had their hands up, and I am sorry that . . .
Q: [Inaudible. Question was for Whip Clyburn on the vote count.]
Majority Whip Clyburn. Well, thank you so much for allowing me to publicly discuss my anxieties. Well, let me say this. We let out these four public options, the Speaker will tell you, she has been a whip. And she is, if I can be half as good as she was, I will be proud of myself. You know, when you are not settled on what form this final public option will take, it is very, very difficult because you always, things are so malleable, you know. Things aren't really settled, so it is tough. But you know, I was very active back in the '60s and as I explained to a group the other day, I remember when we were negotiating to try to get the Civil Rights Act passed. I remember Roy Wilkins having a point of view which was not exactly the point of view that Martin Luther King Jr. had, which was not exactly the point of view that Whitney Young had. They were the Big Three in those days and a lot of discussions took place. You may recall, it took us a period of time of passing various forms. I mean, everybody had the same goal.
And that is the way it is with our Caucus. We have a Caucus that reflects the experiences of this great country of ours. And I talked this morning about the fact that John Spratt and I represent, we share counties. But we don't share constituents. And sometimes people have a hard time understanding that. And so, that is what we are doing here. This is tough to do. We are trying to do something that was first thrust on the national scene almost a hundred years ago by Theodore Roosevelt. When he first talked about a national health insurance. And then you had a president, Harry Truman, who introduced this to the Congress, I think 61, 62 years ago. And we have had Presidents and Congresses all that time trying to do this. This is tough. This is real reform. And as hard as it is, I thank the powers that be for allowing me to be here at this particular juncture. To allow me to be a part of something that I believe will be a significant game changer for businesses and individuals in the United States of America. However hard it is, it doesn't measure to the thankfulness that I have to be part of the process.
Q: [Inaudible.]
Speaker Pelosi: We are hoping Mr. Hoyer would arrive by now, but this will be the last question. Yes.
Q: [Inaudible. Question was about whether the House leadership would allow an amendment on abortion language.]
Speaker Pelosi: We are just finishing our policy on this legislation. We haven't even gone into the procedure as to what will be on the floor if there even are any amendments on the floor. But we will have legislation that will be I think compatible with the thinking of our Members who have this concern.
Thank you all very much.