U.S. Senator Ken Salazar Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees 2300 15^th Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO 80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
For Immediate Release May 9, 2007		CONTACT: Cody Wertz – Comm. Director 303-455-5999
Sen. Salazar Calls for Investigation of Allegations of Pressure Sales Tactics for Medicare Advantage/ Fights to Protect Rural Seniors Access to Prescription Drugs WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, national media outlets have unearthed allegations that insurers offering private Medicare-eligible plans, known as Medicare Advantage, have been pressuring seniors into selecting Medicare Advantage plans. Insurance agents and companies stand to make significantly more money from the government with Medicare Advantage plans than if enrolled in traditional Medicare. Yesterday, United States Senator Ken Salazar raised these allegations of unscrupulous conduct in a Medicare hearing in the Senate Finance Committee, and urged an immediate investigation and swift and strong punishment for violations. “If these allegations that individuals and companies are preying on seniors and defrauding the taxpayers are true, the unscrupulous agents must be prosecuted and the insurance plans should be banned from the Medicare program,” said Senator Salazar. Senator Salazar also continued his fight to protect prescription drug access for rural seniors. Under Medicare, prescription drug plans can sometimes take more than two months to reimburse pharmacies, putting them at serious financial risk. This risk is even greater for rural pharmacies, who frequently server a smaller client base (and therefore have smaller operating margins), but where it is estimated that, over the next decade, one in four Medicare recipients will be living in rural communities. Already, two pharmacies, Centennial Merit in Monte Vista and Stewart Pharmacy in Center, reportedly closed as a result of the low reimbursements by Part D plans. Senator Salazar highlighted this challenge for rural Coloradans, noting, “It makes little sense to have a drug benefit if beneficiaries have no place to fill their prescriptions.” Earlier this year, during a Senate Finance Committee markup of the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007 (S. 3), Senator Salazar highlighted the importance of pharmacies being reimbursed on a reasonable timetable – within 14 days. Of more than 529,000 Coloradans on Medicare, more than 258,000 are currently enrolled in the Medicare drug benefit. # # #