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News :: Health |
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Medicare Conference Committee On Rx Benefits May Cause Significant Harm To Poorest Seniors |
Current rating: 0 |
by Families USA
(No verified email address) |
13 Nov 2003
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"As the conferees dole out huge subsidies for HMOs, PPOs, and drug companies, Congress should make sure that the people who need help the most actually receive it." |
WASHINGTON - November 12 - Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA, released the following statement today about the status of the House-Senate Conference Committee's deliberations on Medicare prescription drug legislation:
"While recent public attention about pending Medicare legislation has understandably focused on several key issues - such as the premium support proposal and possible caps in Medicare spending - significant and harmful decisions are being made concerning prescription drug coverage for America's poorest seniors.
"These decisions are noteworthy because they undermine the single most beneficial feature of pending Medicare legislation: the provision of much-needed prescription drug assistance for the people who can least afford their medicines.
"Tentative decisions by the House-Senate Conference Committee would cause enormous problems for millions of low-income seniors. Those tentative decisions include:
* "Prohibiting the poorest of the poor - those who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid - from receiving Medicaid 'wrap-around' help with their Medicare drug co-payments. This may cause as many as 6 million of the lowest-income Medicare beneficiaries to pay more for their drugs than they do today.
* " Contrary to the Senate bill, the conferees intend to disqualify low-income seniors from receiving much-needed drug subsidies if they have a small amount of assets. The Conference Committee's assets test would disqualify approximately 2.8 million poor seniors from the subsidies they need to make medicines affordable.
* " Contrary to the Senate bill, the Conference Committee will force low-income seniors to enroll for drug subsidies in state welfare offices, not in Social Security offices. This will result in a more complicated process and prevent many from getting the subsidies they need.
" As the conferees dole out huge subsidies for HMOs, PPOs, and drug companies, Congress should make sure that the people who need help the most actually receive it."
Families USA is the national organization for health care consumers. It is nonprofit and nonpartisan and advocates for high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans. |
See also:
http://www.familiesusa.org/
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