Ryan Votes To Provide Prescription Drug Coverage for Seniors, Strengthen Medicare

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives early this morning passed H.R. 4954, the "Medicare Modernization and Prescription Drug Act of 2002" by a vote of 221-208. First District Congressman Paul Ryan, who is an original cosponsor of this legislation, voted in favor of the measure. The bill would make a voluntary prescription drug benefit available to all Medicare beneficiaries and strengthen Medicare in other ways that help Wisconsin seniors and health care providers. This legislation now awaits Senate action.

"Wisconsin seniors know from experience that Medicare today falls short of its promise," Ryan said. "We need to honor that promise by bringing down costs and ensuring more comprehensive coverage and more choice for our seniors. This legislation will help us reach these goals."

"Moreover, this bill serves Wisconsin seniors and health care providers well," Ryan said. "Not only does it guarantee affordable drug coverage under Medicare for all seniors who want it, but it also makes certain regional Medicare payments fairer for Wisconsin, puts substantial funding back into our hospitals, and helps our other health care providers as well. We can and should do more to strengthen Medicare for the long term and correct its problems and inequities, but this is a fine start."

The cornerstone of this legislation is the addition of a voluntary prescription drug benefit available to all Medicare beneficiaries. Key elements of the plan include the following:

• It provides a voluntary, affordable prescription drug benefit as an entitlement to all Medicare beneficiaries. Because it is voluntary, seniors who want to keep their current coverage may do so.
• It gives seniors group buying power, lowering the cost of their prescription drugs substantially. (Congressional Budget Office’s analysis indicates that seniors now paying full retail prices would on average save around 25 percent on their prescriptions as plans compete to serve them by offering price discounts and other help to lower their drug costs.)
• Beneficiaries would pay a premium of around $33 per month or about $1 a day.
• After an initial $250 deductible, Medicare would pay 80 percent of the drug costs up to $1,000, 50 percent of the costs between $1,001 and $2,000, and all costs (100 percent) above $3,700 out-of-pocket per year.
• Low-income seniors would get even more help with their prescription drug costs through subsidized premiums and more comprehensive coverage.
• It guarantees beneficiaries a choice of at least two drug plans, so seniors can select the plan that best matches their needs.

In addition to providing a prescription drug benefit, this legislation takes significant steps to strengthen and improve Medicare and increase Medicare payments to health care providers. Wisconsin hospitals, doctors, nursing homes and home health care agencies would receive needed help under this legislation. The bill also makes Medicare fairer for Wisconsin, by narrowing the regional discrepancy in reimbursement levels that has put Wisconsin hospitals at a disadvantage. Among other things, this bill:

• Gives more help to Medicare recipients by covering an initial physical and once every two year cholesterol screening.
• Strengthens rural health care, delivering relief for underpaid rural and small urban hospitals and home health.
• Improves reimbursement policy, narrowing the regional disparity in reimbursements to hospitals.
• Puts nearly $100 million into Wisconsin hospitals over the next two years, and more than $224 million over ten years, according to preliminary estimates.
• Reforms irrational physician payments, helping to prevent doctors from leaving Medicare.
• Works to stabilize Medicare + Choice and establishes demonstration projects to examine moving toward a system more like the competitive health care program that Members of Congress and federal employees have. This is necessary to slow escalating Medicare costs and improve Medicare solvency.
• Provides regulatory relief for doctors and hospitals.

Over 80 different patient and health care provider groups support this legislation (see list following this release.)

On July 1 and 2, Rep. Ryan will hold town hall meetings to talk about this legislation and discuss the overall issue of improving Medicare and providing needed prescription drug coverage. Click her for a schedule of Ryan’s upcoming town hall meetings.