Jay Inslee: Washington's 1st Congressional District
Issues
Health
Inslee Pushes To Include Prescription Drug Coverage Under Medicare
June 28, 2000
Washington, D.C.- – U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee signed on as an original cosponsor of the Medicare Guaranteed and Defined Rx Benefit and Health Provider Relief Act (H.R. 4770), a bill that includes a prescription drug benefit under the Medicare program.
"It is plain to me that many seniors cannot afford prescription drugs and Congress needs to step up and help our seniors," said Inslee. "Seniors should not have to choose between eating a meal and buying their medications. The bill that I cosponsored eases this burden considerably."
"This is the plan that is going to guarantee that affordable, reliable, meaningful prescription drug coverage is available to all seniors. The biotech folks in my district have come up with some of the most advanced medical breakthroughs in the world. This bill allows seniors guaranteed access to the newest prescription drugs," said Inslee.
Inslee’s district includes Immunex Corporation, the creator of Enbrel, a self-injectable drug which has been extraordinarily effective in treating those who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. The Medicare Guaranteed and Defined Rx Benefit and Health Provider Relief Act includes language written by Inslee which expands the Medicare program to include coverage for self-injectable drugs like Enbrel. This specific provision was introduced as a stand-alone bill called the Access to Innovation for Medicare Patients Act (H.R. 2892) which has bipartisan support.
Under the Inslee supported prescription drug proposal:
- Medicare covers any prescription medicine that your doctor says that you need;
- There is no deductible, the benefit is effective from the first prescription purchased;
- Benefits are available everywhere in the United States;
- Medicare pays 100% of the drug costs after $4,000, protecting seniors from the financial side effects of catastrophic health problems and chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
Despite considerable support for this program from senior citizens’ organizations, the House Republican Leadership has not allowed this bill to come to the Floor for a vote. Instead they proposed a different scheme that relies on large government subsidies to insurance companies that give benefits to seniors. Under the Republican scheme, insurance companies could revoke the coverage any time they did not feel that their bottom line is being met.
"The Republican plan was tested in Nevada, and it failed in Nevada, " said Inslee. "No health insurance company offered seniors a plan. That cannot be the plan for all of our American seniors. Under the Republican plan seniors will only have coverage if insurance companies come forward and offer it. It is wholly uncertain that this will happen. You can just look to see what is happening in Washington State right now with Medicare +Choice, every day seniors are being dropped from their HMO plans. If we let this Republican plan through, we are hanging the future of our seniors on a very thin thread."