Manchester, New Hampshire - General Wesley Clark issued the following statement about the passage of the Medicare bill:

"This Medicare bill violates the most basic tenet of the Hippocratic Oath-first do no harm. In New Hampshire alone, under this bill, 11,970 elderly and disabled people will lose the prescription drug benefit they are currently getting through their retiree health plan. On top of that, 18,300 low-income elderly and disabled people will have to pay MORE for prescription drugs. Plus, the premiums of 5,560 Medicare beneficiaries will go up. Worst of all, this bill fails to meaningfully constrain the spiraling cost of prescription drugs-each year seniors encounter double-digit increases in the price of their medications.

It includes provisions that are primarily designed to privatize Medicare. It wastes precious resources on new health care tax > shelters.

Recently, in a New Hampshire shoe store, I met a senior citizen who's paying $20,000 a year for her medication. She'd like to go to Canada to save money. But, under this bill, she is prohibited from buying medications in Canada-where prices are up to 80 percent lower.

This bill does more to serve the special interests than the interests of seniors. I invite seniors everywhere to join me in fighting for a prescription drug benefit that fixes these flaws and provides comprehensive, meaningful and affordable benefits for all seniors."

Wes Clark outlined the three principles that must guide prescription drug benefits.

A real fix will be grounded in three principles:

1. Comprehensive: All seniors should have access to the same prescription drug benefit through Medicare. They should not have to join HMOs or face large premium increases to get the prescription drug coverage they need.

2. Meaningful: All seniors deserve a meaningful benefit-one that has affordable premiums and provides all the coverage they truly need.

3. Affordable: We should allow Americans to import less expensive medications from Canada, with the appropriate safety precautions. We should cut the corporate tax shelters and red tape that keep inexpensive generics from entering the market. And we should also allow Medicare to use the same purchasing tools that are available to the private sector, including the power to negotiate directly with drug companies for bulk discounts on popular drugs.