[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 86 (Friday, June 30, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S6253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PRESCRIPTION DRUGS UNDER MEDICARE

  Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to discuss an 
issue that has become increasingly important to many in Congress. As an 
early sponsor of legislation to provide prescription drug coverage 
under Medicare, I am pleased there has been progress in reaching an 
agreement among many proposals to provide prescription drug benefits to 
seniors.
  Medicare recently celebrated its 35th anniversary. As with most 
things in life this program is now starting to show its age. Still 
being administered under a model developed in 1965, Medicare is quickly 
becoming antiquated and blind to the many advances in modern medicine. 
We all know prescription drugs play an increasingly important role in 
the health of our nation.
  There are countless examples of drugs which now allow us to live 
longer, more productive lives. Drugs to control blood pressure, lower 
cholesterol, or mitigate the effects of a stroke are a few which 
demonstrate the measurable impact research and development can have on 
improving our lives. Unfortunately, the Medicare program has not 
progressed as rapidly as medicine.
  To that end, I introduced the Medicare Ensuring Prescription Drugs 
for Seniors Act, or MEDS. My bill was an early attempt to heighten the 
debate surrounding prescription drugs, and at the same time provide a 
plan that would address the needs of the nearly one third of senior 
citizens in this country who currently lack any form of prescription 
coverage. We have all heard the frightening stories of the choices that 
many seniors are forced to make when it comes to paying for 
prescription drugs. Unfortunately, many of these stories have been 
politicized and used to stir the political cauldron over the past 
several months. But the reality is that decisions between food, 
shelter, and medicine are all too common among our neediest seniors. 
MEDS was introduced to help these people.
  My plan would add a prescription benefit under the already existing 
Part B of Medicare, without creating or adding any new overly 
bureaucratic component to the Medicare program. It works like this: The 
part B beneficiary would have the opportunity to access the benefit as 
long as they were Medicare eligible. Those with incomes below 135 
percent of the nation's poverty level would be provided the benefit 
without a deductible and would only be responsible for a 25 percent co-
payment for all approved medications.
  My bill also provides relief for seniors above the 135 percent income 
threshold who may face overwhelming drug costs because of the number of 
prescriptions they take or the relative costs of them, by paying for 75 
percent of the costs after a $150 monthly deductible is met. Most 
importantly, this voluntary benefit does not have a treatment cap. 
Unlike both the President's plan and others currently being debated in 
Congress, MEDS covers all participating beneficiaries no matter what 
level of monthly or annual drug expenditure they incur and does not 
abandon seniors when they need help the most.
  The House of Representatives narrowly passed a prescription drug bill 
that subsidizes the insurance industry and attempts to ensure coverage 
in all areas of the country--a difficult if not impossible task. The 
biggest problem with this approach is that the insurance industry has 
stated that it wouldn't be able or willing to provide these types of 
``stand alone'' policies no matter how much of a subsidy they receive. 
Trying to establish an enormously expensive and administratively 
difficult plan built on the mere hope that the insurance industry will 
change its mind, is simply too big a risk to take when it comes to our 
nations seniors.
  The House bill would establish a new outside agency through the 
Department of Health and Human Services to administer the plan. Not 
only will this compound the problem of administration, implementation 
and increasing federal bureaucracy, but it also actually delays 
benefits that will help our seniors today. There is no way a major new 
bureaucracy can be created and become effective in time to provide the 
help our seniors need now. At a minimum, based on similar initiatives 
in the past, it would take two years to gear up this kind of new 
government agency, which again, only duplicates existing federal 
bureaucracy and slows progress toward meaningful reform.
  It's important these facts are understood as we continue discussing 
emerging plans for a prescription drug benefit under Medicare. How a 
plan is structured could have dramatic consequences for future 
innovations in treatments which can enhance quality of life and in some 
cases save lives. If done right, we'll enable all senior citizens to 
access the best health care system in the world and receive the latest 
technology and treatment for their conditions--and do it in a way that 
is both responsible and expedient. MEDS accomplishes both of these 
goals.
  In closing Mr. President, let me say, as I have in the past, the 
challenge before us today is to enable Medicare to shape and adapt 
itself to reflect the realities of an ever changing health care system. 
After 35 years of endless tinkering, we have a real opportunity to make 
it more responsive, more helpful, and more attuned to the needs of 
current and future retirees and disabled persons in this country 
through the provision of a prescription drug benefit. This is a goal to 
which I am wholly committed.

                          ____________________