[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 12, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E431-E432]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     INTRODUCTION OF THE MEDICARE Rx DRUG BENEFIT AND DISCOUNT ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 11, 2003

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, today, I am proud to introduce the Medicare 
Rx Drug Benefit and Discount Act with John Dingell, the Dean of the 
House and Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Our 
Ranking Member on the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, Pete Stark, 
has had a leadership role in the development of this legislation, as 
have so many other health care leaders in our caucus.
  This legislation makes good on our promise to add affordable, 
comprehensive prescription drug coverage to Medicare.
  The Democratic bill will look, smell, taste, and feel like any other 
Medicare benefit, because it is a Medicare benefit. Beneficiaries will 
not be forced to join an HMO or other private insurer to get the 
prescription drugs they need.
  Under this legislation, every beneficiary will be guaranteed a $25 
monthly premium, $100 annual deductible, 20 percent coinsurance and 
$2000 out-of-pocket limit, no matter where they live.
  We provide additional assistance for low-income beneficiaries. Those 
with incomes up to 150 percent of the poverty level ($13,470 for one 
person) will pay nothing.
  Those with incomes between 150-175 percent of poverty ($13,470-
$15,715 for a single person) will pay premiums on a sliding scale with 
no additional cost-sharing.
  The Medicare Rx Drug Benefit and Discount Act would: lower 
prescription drug costs for all Americans, regardless of whether they 
are covered by Medicare, give all Medicare beneficiaries the option of 
a reasonably-priced guaranteed prescription benefit under Medicare, and 
ensure that senior citizens and people with disabilities receive 
coverage for the drug their doctor prescribes and not some substitute 
that an insurance company deems ``equivalent.''
  Unlike the President's and other Republicans' proposal, our plan 
would never force seniors into an HMO or similar private plan in order 
to get a prescription drug benefit.
  Republicans claim they will give seniors a ``Medicare'' prescription 
drug benefit, but their proposals are really just a way to provide 
subsidies to insurance plans and HMOs, not to help beneficiaries.
  Republicans claim they will give beneficiaries choices, but their 
proposals really leave virtually all of the important decisions to the 
private insurance companies. Under the GOP plan, private insurers will 
decide which drugs are covered and which are not. If your drug is not 
on the list, too bad. Millions of seniors will not be able to afford 
their prescriptions under the GOP plan. Under the GOP plan, private 
insurers can pick and choose which pharmacies to include in their 
networks. If your neighborhood pharmacy is not on the preferred list, 
you are out of luck.

  The bottom line is that those who can buy insurance under the GOP 
plan may find their choice of pharmacies severely limited or that they 
cannot get coverage for the drugs prescribed by their doctor.
  Ultimately, there is only one choice the President and other 
Republicans want to force seniors to make--the choice of either their 
family doctor or their life-saving medicines. Under the GOP plan, 
seniors in search of even modest drug benefits would have to leave the 
traditional Medicare program--where they have the choice of any doctor 
they want--and join an HMO or other private insurer that may or may not 
cover their family doctor.
  Many HMOs and private insurers have unfairly limited health care in 
the past. That's what the Patients' Bill of Rights debate has been 
about. They've been unreliable partners in Medicare to date; just look 
at the problems in the Medicare+Choice program. And now the Republicans 
want to put them in charge of this medication benefit under their 
``privatization'' model.
  Republican leaders have never liked Medicare. Former Speaker Gingrich 
once said Medicare would ``wither on the vine because we think people 
are voluntarily going to leave it.'' In 1995, Dick Armey called 
Medicare: ``a program I would have no part of in a free world.''
  Republican proposals lay the groundwork for them to make good on 
their desire to do away with the program. The Republican prescription 
drug plan is the first step towards privatizing Medicare. They would 
force seniors to deal with private insurance companies instead of 
having the choice of getting prescriptions through Medicare. They would 
also institute so-called ``modernizations'' that would significantly 
raise the premiums of beneficiaries who wish to stay in the traditional 
Medicare program.
  In contrast, we base our plan--not on a flawed privatization model--
but on the successful Medicare program. We offer a genuine Medicare 
plan, providing affordable voluntary drug coverage to all American 
seniors through Medicare.
  Under this legislation, no senior will ever have to choose between 
putting food on the table or paying the rent or getting the medicines 
they need.
  This legislation also helps reduce the sky-rocketing costs that 
seniors and other beneficiaries currently pay for prescription drugs by 
utilizing the collective negotiating power of Medicare's 40 million 
beneficiaries to guarantee lower drug prices. By closing some loopholes 
in current law that prevent or delay generic drugs from coming to 
market, this legislation also reduces drug prices for all Americans.
  While our Republican colleagues are engaged in a cynical political 
exercise designed to bring themselves political cover, we offer serious 
legislation. It would bring senior citizens Medicare prescription drug 
coverage.
  When President Harry Truman first proposed Medicare in his second 
term, a wide array of Republican forces were against him saying he 
could not do it. Truman said: ``We may not make it [now], but someday 
we will.'' Eventually, Truman and other Medicare advocates succeeded. 
Harry and Bess Truman became the first Medicare enrollees in 1965.
  The Republican leadership may prevent us from passing a true Medicare 
prescription drug benefit now, but they cannot stop us in the long run 
because that is what seniors and all Americans have said they really 
want.
  As Pete Stark points out, prescription drug coverage is as essential 
to seniors' good

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health in the 21st century as coverage of doctor visits and hospital 
stays was in the 20th century.
  If you want to see the real difference between Democrats and 
Republicans, look at Medicare prescription drug coverage. While 
Republicans protect the pharmaceutical industry's profits, Democrats 
protect seniors from skyrocketing prescription drug costs. I urge my 
colleagues to look at the fine print, and to vote for this legislation 
when the opportunity arises.

                          ____________________