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Resources for Medicare Part D Beneficiaries Introduction | Resources | History of Part D | Room for Improvement I've been contacted by hundreds of Oregonians concerned about the "Medicare Modernization Act" (MMA) since its passage over two years ago. Now that people must choose their prescription drug plans, my offices receive calls every day from Medicare beneficiaries and their relatives baffled about picking the right plan. One of the most frustrating things about the new Medicare prescription drug program is that there is no single comprehensive resource to turn to for help. The job of educating and assisting seniors with the new program has been left to an informal patchwork of private organizations and extremely dedicated local and state volunteers. I have listed the resources available in the Fourth District if you need help. I will do my best to keep this site updated. Please let me know if you discover other useful resources by calling 1-800-944-9603 or sending me an e-mail. National | State-Wide | Benton | Coos | Curry | Douglas | Josephine | Lane | Linn
NOTE: If you would like to volunteer to assist seniors with the new Medicare drug benefit, please contact SHIBA at (800) 722-4134, or at your local SHIBA office.
In the early morning hours of Saturday, November 22, 2003, Congress approved the deeply flawed $800 billion bill that will do little to ease Medicare prescription drug costs for Oregon's seniors. However, at least one group will benefit form the bill. Extraordinarily profitable drug and health insurance companies will enjoy $139 billion in federal subsidies. This so-called prescription drug "benefit" contains a large coverage gap for seniors. Perhaps most disturbing is that seniors can only pick one prescription plan per year, but the plan providers can switch benefits an unlimited number of times in the same year. What seniors sign up for may not be what they end up with at the end of the year. This bill takes a dangerous step towards the privatization and eventual dismantling of Medicare. Seniors will now receive drug coverage only through private insurance companies with wide latitude to set premiums and deductibles and make decisions about which drugs are covered and the pharmacies seniors can use. Further, there is no guarantee that retirees with existing prescription drug coverage from their employers will continue to receive it. Employers can reduce coverage and get subsidies for doing so! The bill explicitly prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from negotiating lower drug prices on behalf of America's 40 million Medicare beneficiaries. I have been a vocal advocate for providing all Americans access to affordable prescription drugs. I voted at least 15 times during the 108th Congress alone to support a strong Medicare prescription drug program, to reject the privatization of Medicare, to improve rural health care for seniors under Medicare, to support physicians and hospitals, and to import U.S.-manufactured, FDA-approved drugs from industrialized countries for a fraction of their cost here in America. My preferred option would be to have the government negotiate lower prescription drug prices for all seniors and then provide a single plan for all seniors with a sliding scale premium. This would not only save the federal government and taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in the next few years, it would ensure that an already strained Medicare program is not bankrupted. Negotiated drug prices, combined with reimportation of safe prescription drugs from abroad would bring down the cost of medicines for everyone. The Veterans Administration (VA) negotiates with drug makers to provide lower prescription drug costs to veterans. As a result, VA beneficiaries pay 80 percent less than Medicare Part D beneficiaries for the identical, non-generic versions of ten of the most popular drugs, according to a recent report from the House Committee on Government Reform (direct link to .pdf of report). Additionally, the new Medicare law will not allow Americans to import drugs from countries like Canada (where prices are 60 percent lower). Finally, spending on Medicare under this bill is arbitrarily capped. It's shortsighted and irresponsible to cap Medicare growth and restrict access to benefits just as the Baby Boom generation becomes eligible, and when the bill contains no concrete actions to combat skyrocketing drug costs. In the 109th Congress, I have already cosponsored two reimportation bills, H.R. 376 and H.R. 752, to improve the Medicare bill. Both would allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries. I have long supported reimportation of prescription drugs with strict controls to help bring down the cost of health care. Experts estimate that such efforts could reduce prescription drug prices by 30 to 50 percent. The Republican leadership in the House continues to allow reimportation bills to languish in committee without bringing them to the floor for a vote. I am also a cosponsor of H.R. 3861, the " Medicare Informed Choice Act." H.R. 3861 would extend the open enrollment period for the entire year of 2006, as well as allowing for a beneficiary to switch plans without penalty once during 2006, if they are not satisfied with the coverage. You can be sure that I will continue to fight for Medicare benefits that are in the best interests of the public, not the insurance and pharmaceutical companies. |