Barney Frank For Congress - Health Care

Frank Files Bill Blocking Medicare Premium Hikes, September 15, 2004

Fri, 29 Jul 2005 01:01:51 -0400

Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced legislation to prevent the recently announced 17 percent increase in Medicare Part B premiums from going into effect. "I believe it is terribly unfair to ask senior citizens to pay such a huge increase in their monthly premiums," Frank said. "We ought to make a commitment to the idea that medical care for the elderly is an important national need, with a substantial portion of the cost paid for by general revenues rather than simply making those who need the care pay extra."

Comments on the Republican-sponsored Medicare prescription drug legislation on National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation"

Fri, 29 Jul 2005 01:02:46 -0400

"I thought we were going to have a choice, either a reasonable drug benefit paid for by weakening Medicare or Medicare kept intact so that we would then have an inadequate drug benefit. But, we got from the Republicans the worst of both worlds. It was an inadequate benefit financed by cuts in Medicare."

Barney Frank, speaking at a public forum in Middleboro, Massachusetts, as reported in Middleboro Gazette, March 18, 2004

Fri, 29 Jul 2005 00:58:47 -0400

"The argument that we are given is that drugs in Canada aren't safe, and therefore we can't allow Americans to import them. My argument is the day I read about a lot of dead Canadians from taking bad pills, I'll believe that."

Excerpt from Barney Frank interview with "ABC News," on President Bush's budget, March 8, 2001.

Fri, 29 Jul 2005 00:57:44 -0400

"Yes, it is the budget that was dictated by Bush's tax cut. Remember, Bush talks about a number by which he wanted to cut taxes. That's what's driving this whole process. He first did the tax cut. Then you have, in terms of spending on important public needs, simply what's left over.

"The biggest problem to me is in Medicare, health care. In the first place, I think we have a terrible crisis in this country for older people who need prescription drugs. You know, you make your plans, you retire on 30, 35 thousand dollars a year. You paid off the home. You think you're going to live pretty well. And then you get hit with a drug bill. Four or five hundreds dollars a month, six hundred dollars a month, is not an unusual drug bill. "George Bush says, because of the amount by which he wants to cut taxes during his entire Presidency, the first four years, he can only afford to propose to help people who make less than $17,000 a year. If you were trying to get by on 22, 24, 26 thousand dollars a year and you have a drug bill of four or five thousand dollars a year, George Bush gives you zero help. That money went to cut the estate tax for multi-millionaires. So if you happen to be old and sick and middle class, the Bush budget has nothing for you. If you are old, rich, and dead, this budget takes care of you very nicely."