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Judy on Drugs/Prescription or Medicare Part D Judy's views on prescription drugs and how the new Medicare benefit has revolutionized the Medicare system.The new Medicare Part D benefit that I supported has fostered competition, brought down drug prices, and saved seniors an average of $1,200 per year.
Before passage of the Medicare Modernization and Prescription Drug Act, Medicare operated as if it were still back in 1965, when the program was created. Needless to say, a lot has changed since then – including healthcare. When Medicare was created, surgeries and hospital stays – not prescription drugs -- were the primary means of treating and managing illness. Today, prescription medications can not only treat illnesses, they can prevent them.
But until now, we had a Medicare system that on the one hand was happy to pay $5,000 when someone was hospitalized for heart failure, but wouldn’t pay a lousy $67 a month for Lipitor, which could have prevented the heart failure in the first place.
This problem was compounded by the fact that many lifesaving drugs cost a great deal more than $67 per month. By the mid to late 1990s, many seniors were beginning to face a horrible choice – putting food on the table or filling their prescriptions for drugs they needed to stay healthy.
That’s why I strongly supported the passage of the Medicare Modernization and Prescription Drug Act. This legislation created an optional program that allows seniors to choose whether they would like to enroll in the program and then which Part D Plan works best for their individual needs. This legislation also protects retiree health coverage by providing a tax subsidy for companies that maintain their retiree drug coverage, thereby ensuring continued coverage for retirees who prefer to remain part of their employer plans.
We are already starting to see the positive effects of this program. More than 38 million seniors, or 90 percent of Medicare beneficiaries, now have prescription drug coverage. In Illinois’s 13th District, 54,575 seniors benefited directly from the passage of the Medicare Modernization and Prescript Drug Act; 33,365 through enrollment and 21,210 through employers utilizing the tax subsidy contained in the law to continue their retiree drug coverage.
Every day this program is filling more than 3 million prescriptions and, on average, individuals are saving $1,200 a year. Recent surveys show that program costs are actually 25 percent less than predicted last year and more than 80 percent of people are satisfied with their coverage. Beneficiaries who are part of this satisfied group can continue with their coverage in 2007. Those individuals who wish to change to a different prescription drug plan can change their plan between November 15, 2006, and December 31, 2006, for free.
I am proud of this legislation, which was passed with bipartisan support and the endorsement of AARP, and I am committed to ensuring Medicare beneficiaries in Illinois 13th District take advantage of this program. Last year I held a number of events where seniors could bring their drugs and talk directly to program experts. My office continues to offer assistance to seniors with questions on this program. If you would like to enroll or switch your coverage you can contact Medicare directly at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
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