[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 44 (Thursday, April 1, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H1795]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    MEDICARE PROVIDES EMPLOYERS INCENTIVE TO KEEP PRESCRIPTION DRUG 
                         COVERAGE FOR RETIREES

  (Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to set 
the record straight on the Medicare prescription drug plan. Since the 
mid-1980s, the number of employers offering prescription drug coverage 
to their retirees has been declining steadily. In 1988, 66 percent of 
employers provided these benefits to retirees. In the year 2000, it was 
only 34 percent.
  To address this alarming trend, the Medicare prescription drug bill 
provides employers an incentive to keep their coverage. They are going 
to get 28 cents for every dollar that they spend on prescription drug 
benefits for their retirees. This applies to all employer-sponsored 
prescription drug coverage and those of corporations, unions, and 
government entities.
  Because of these incentives, AARP and the American Medical 
Association endorse the bill that we passed last year. It is 
unfortunate that Democrats continue to twist the truth and distort the 
facts by scaring seniors into believing that this bill would cause them 
to lose benefits. That is the furthest thing from the truth. What the 
Democrats do not tell seniors is that for the first time Congress has 
acted to slow this trend.

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