[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 60 (Tuesday, May 4, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4786-S4787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      MEDICARE DISCOUNT DRUG CARDS

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I want to now discuss my concerns 
about the ads we are seeing regarding the new Medicare drug discount 
card. I think the ads are misleading, and I am getting a lot of 
inquiries from people at home about is this good for me or not. I think 
there is a fundamental mistrust about whether this is an idea whose 
time ought not yet come, because the citizens are saying it is starting 
in 2006, and this is obviously a lead-in to that. I think it can be 
described as a placeholder.
  The card became available yesterday, but the administration is 
keeping seniors in the dark about the real benefits and weaknesses of 
the program. They have produced a television commercial that is hyping 
the card and are spending $18 billion to show it across the country.
  In this ad, there is a group of seniors in line at a pharmacy and the 
announcer says: ``Good news for those with Medicare. You can get 
savings on prescriptions.'' They do it in the right mellifluous tone, 
just for those on Medicare. That is really all the announcer says about 
the card--``good news . . . you can get savings.'' That's it--all hype 
and no substance.
  The television ad is almost a cruel joke on our Nation's seniors. 
Instead of providing real, needed information about the drug card, the 
administration has launched a PR campaign to boost the image of the 
card.

[[Page S4787]]

  HHS should have spent less time focusing on hype and more time 
providing seniors with critical information about the card program.
  We have to look at what is missing on the card. I urge the 
administration to include something else in their mailing. This is 
called a magnifying glass. Everybody knows what it is. It ought to be 
sent so you can read what this small type says. It says, ``Scene from 
the HHS `shine' ad, featuring the `strange, blue, magical glow of 
light.' ''
  It goes further--and we have enlarged the type. The magnifying glass 
would be a nice accompaniment for seniors who are getting this, because 
they should read this small type. It says: ``Savings may vary. 
Enrollment fee, deductibles, and copay may apply.''
  And here they say ``certain exclusions apply.''
  We need the magnifying glass to see that.
  What we are looking at is some fairly deceptive advertising. It is 
shocking that the administration would once again run ads that leave 
out these important details, especially in light of the findings by the 
GAO that earlier Medicare advertisements had a political tone and 
contained ``notable omissions and other weaknesses.''
  Many seniors watching this commercial could reasonably believe the 
discount card is free. In reality, there is an annual enrollment fee of 
up to $30.
  Many drugs would be excluded from the program. Seniors could be stuck 
with a Medicare drug card that provides no discount for the 
prescription drugs they may need. For example, seniors using the 
Medicare discount card offered by the Pharmacy Care Alliance would get 
no discount for Celebrex. Celebrex is a common, apparently very 
effective drug used to treat arthritis. With the card, you can buy the 
drug for $121.80. But if you don't have the card, you can get the same 
medication for only $76.99 at drugstore.com, so there is a savings of 
over $40. The card is useless for this drug.
  Another example: Seniors on the Rx Savings Medicare Card Plan would 
pay $147.01 for Prevacid, a common drug used to treat acid reflux. But 
there is no discount at all when you consider that you can buy the same 
drug for $120.99 at drugstore.com without any card. That is a savings 
of over $25 if you do not use the card. That is a good idea. Don't use 
the card.

  Lipitor is used to treat high cholesterol. If you have the Pharmacy 
Care Alliance Medicare drug card, it costs you $71.19. But if you want 
to buy it at drugstore.com, that $71.19 product cost only $62.99. So 
there is $8 worth of savings right there at drugstore.com without any 
card. The savings are haphazard at best.
  These Health and Human Services television ads do not provide any of 
these details except, once again, in the tiny type on the bottom of the 
screen, and you ought to get a magnifying glass if you really want to 
understand what is taking place.
  Look at this placard. It shows actual scenes from HHS's 
advertisement. I point out as I did before:

       Savings may vary. Enrollment fee, deductibles, and co-pay 
     may apply.

  They are saying: Hey, hold on to your pockets because we are not 
really telling you what the outcome is going to be.
  What little substantive information is included can only be found at 
the bottom of the screen in print so small that you need a magnifying 
glass to read it. They make sure the type is in a color that is very 
hard to read. If this was an automobile, people would be hollering that 
this is flimflam. Only in its barely visible fine print are seniors 
informed there is an enrollment fee for the discount card.
  It also reveals that ``certain exclusions apply.'' That exclusion 
could very well be the prescription drug you need.
  Rather than educating seniors about the drug discount card, HHS is 
treating the Medicare drug card like dishwashing soap--just make the 
public think it is a great thing. These are not educational ads. They 
are propaganda. The GAO already told HHS that its previous Medicare 
materials were misleading, but rather than clean up its act, the 
administration continues to hide the fact and trick seniors.
  I call on HHS and the administration to stop using taxpayers' dollars 
to mislead seniors and start providing real needed information to 
Medicare beneficiaries. One should not have to have a magnifying glass 
to understand what is being offered.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, Senator Schumer is not here; therefore, I 
yield back his time.
  Does the other side yield back their morning business time?
  Mr. GRASSLEY. We yield back our 5 minutes.

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