(WASHINGTON, DC) – Congressman Russ Carnahan (MO-03) today applauded the largest organization for people 50 and over for their support of health insurance legislation before Congress, saying the endorsement underscores important provisions in the bill that will improve health care for older Americans and their families.

     “I am personally gratified that so much progress has been made in closing the donut hole,” said Sharon Wells, a representative of AARP in Missouri and a member of Congressman Carnahan’s Senior Advisory Committee.  “Having a husband with Parkinson's Disease who needs to take three brand-name drugs because there currently are no generic ones available is a tremendous burden on us financially.  When he falls into the donut hole, which is usually in May, those three drugs at least quadruple.”

     Yesterday, the AARP – with 40 million members nationwide and over 820,000 in Missouri – issued a statement endorsing the final health care legislation being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives.  The endorsement highlighted components in the health bill aimed at closing the Medicare prescription drug “donut hole,” strengthening Medicare for future generations by cracking down on fraud and waste, and preventing insurance companies from dropping or pricing people out of coverage when they get sick.

     “Passing this health care bill is going to have a tremendous positive impact on millions of Americans just like Sharon and her husband,” Carnahan said.  “It’s time to have an up-or-down vote so that families like Sharon’s don’t have to worry about health care costs threatening their financial security.  It’s time to give the American people access to the same kind of coverage Members of Congress have.  It’s time to stop the insurance companies from denying coverage to people because they have a preexisting condition or cutting them off if they get sick.  It’s time to pass this bill.”

     The new health care bill, is available online at www.rules.house.gov.

     A new analysis released yesterday by the Congressional Budget Office indicates the bill will reduce the federal deficit by $138 billion in the next decade and more than $1.2 trillion over 20 years, and provide health coverage for an additional 35 million Americans. 

     The full statement released by AARP yesterday is available at http://www.aarp.org/aarp/presscenter/.