Medicare 

Seniors and the disabled need a Medicare prescription drug benefit that is guaranteed, voluntary, comprehensive and affordable. The elderly and disabled have waited long enough for relief from the high cost of prescription drug prices. I am committed to providing a comprehensive benefit that is affordable and dependable for all beneficiaries with no gaps or gimmicks in coverage.

Since 1995, national spending on prescription drugs has grown by over 100% every year, more than doubling the rate of growth for spending on hospital care or physician and clinical services. Seniors are the population most likely to need prescription drugs, yet they are the least likely of all insured groups to have such coverage.

According to Families USA, the prices of the prescription drugs most frequently used by seniors have risen faster than inflation for each year since 1995.  In fact, costs for these drugs rose more than three times the rate of inflation in 2002.

I believe that a prescription drug benefit must be:

• Available to all - must provide coverage for all seniors and disabled Americans no matter where they live - rural or urban.
• Affordable - must have affordable premiums, a reasonable deductible and must significantly reduce the price of prescription drugs.
• Guaranteed - with real, guaranteed, defined benefits - and no huge gaps in coverage.
• Within the Medicare program - not a separate privatized plan that forces seniors into HMOs.

In June, the Senate and the House of Representatives each passed different legislation to provide prescription drug coverage under Medicare. 

I voted against the House proposal.  In the plan, seniors will face costly premiums and huge gaps in coverage.  Coverage stops after out of pocket costs reach $2,000.  A senior will continue paying premiums, but receive no coverage until drug costs reach $4,900.  Forty-seven percent of Medicare beneficiaries are expected to fall into this gap.

After reaching the catastrophic threshold of $4,900, Medicare then will pay 100% of drug costs.

In addition, the House bill does little to rein in the high costs of prescription drugs.  With 40 million seniors in Medicare, the federal government would have lots of purchasing and bargaining power to bring the costs down and pass the savings on to you.  But the bill actually prohibits negotiating for best prices.  So, instead of significant negotiated discounts, seniors can expect the cost of prescription drugs to remain high. 

Perhaps the worst part of the bill is its plan to dismantle Medicare as we know it.  For the first time, traditional fee-for-service Medicare will have to bid against private plans, making Medicare too expensive for many seniors with fixed incomes.