[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 48 (Thursday, April 27, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E649]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        MEDICARE PART D DEADLINE

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                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 27, 2006

  Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge Congress 
and the Bush Administration to extend the May 15th deadline for 
enrollment in Medicare Part D.
  The Bush Administration has spent millions of taxpayer dollars to 
promote this complicated plan. However, 6 months after enrollment 
began, only slightly over half of Medicare recipients, who did not 
previously have coverage, have enrolled in Part D. These low numbers 
are due in large part to the complexity of the system, the number of 
unfamiliar plans entering the market and the misinformation initially 
presented by CMS.
  This was made very clear to me after many meetings with seniors and 
persons with disabilities in my district that this is unnecessarily 
complicated and that CMS was unprepared to deal with its implementation 
from the outset. As Members of Congress, we have all heard from 
constituents--both Medicare recipients and providers--about the 
difficulties in enrollment and in the accuracy of the payment system. I 
even heard from one constituent who was so frustrated by the system 
that, against our advice, he has disenrolled completely and plans to 
rely on emergency room care for his health coverage. That is 
unacceptable.
  Coverage decisions are made more difficult by the fact that a 
beneficiary may only change plans once a year, whereas a plan may 
change its coverage options on a whim. Regardless of these 
complexities, those who do not enroll by May 15th will be charged a 7 
percent minimum penalty for the rest of their lives. Medicare 
beneficiaries should not be charged for this Administration's problems. 
We need to extend the deadline for enrollment and in the meantime, go 
back to the drawing board and write a Medicare prescription drug plan 
that makes sense.
  The Medicare Part D plan does not provide the comprehensive coverage 
that is needed for our seniors and persons with disabilities. This plan 
appears to be focused on providing profits for HMOs and pharmaceutical 
companies, not on improving health care and quality of life for 
Medicare recipients. Those priorities are made clear with the provision 
banning the Secretary of Health and Human Services from negotiating for 
best price on prescription drugs.
  Recent studies show that by negotiating for best price we could save 
enough money to provide coverage for all recipients without a premium. 
A comprehensive Medicare drug benefit focused on seniors would come 
directly from Medicare, would allow negotiation, and would allow for 
re-importation of prescription drugs when safety standards are met.
  We can do better, and we must do better. I urge my colleagues to 
support a deadline extension and comprehensive prescription drug 
coverage under Medicare.

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