[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[House]
[Pages 25258-25259]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      40TH ANNIVERSARY OF MEDICARE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise this evening during this 40th 
anniversary year of Medicare as a strong supporter of this critical 
health insurance lifeline to all of America's families. On July 30, 
1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law, the most 
important and successful family insurance program our Nation has ever 
known.
  Medicare was created to provide health insurance to the elderly and 
disabled in part because only about half of our Nation's elderly and 
almost all of the disabled actually never had had health insurance. 
Medicare also played a fundamental role, along with the Civil Rights 
Act of 1964, in desegregating the American health insurance system by 
assuring access to care regardless of race or age.
  Medicare began with 19 million beneficiaries, and since then it has 
served a total of approximately 105 million people over the last 40 
years. Medicare has evolved over time to help beneficiaries maintain 
health, prevent disease and injury and provide better benefits, 
including more preventive care, even as inflation pushed the cost of 
health care higher and higher.
  Medicare, which covered about 42 percent of expenditures for the 
elderly in 1968, covered about 55 percent by 1997. Without it, citizens 
simply could not cope financially as private companies reneged on their 
promised health and pension benefit to retirees.
  Today, Medicare provides comprehensive health insurance for nearly 42 
million Americans, which includes more than 35 million senior citizens 
and 6 million people under 65 years of age who are permanently 
disabled. It continues to achieve its purpose of improving health and 
financial security for beneficiaries by assuring access to affordable 
health care and contributing to the significant decrease in poverty 
among the elderly, which has fallen from nearly 30 percent in 1966 to 
approximately 10 percent in 2002. What a profound accomplishment we 
have achieved as a people to make the golden years livable, not 
threatening.
  Most recently, however, in 2003, this Congress moved to add a 
prescription drug benefit coverage program to Medicare. While I have 
always supported Medicare as an important lifeline for

[[Page 25259]]

seniors and the disabled, I could not support this particular 
legislation championed by the current Republican Party and the 
pharmaceutical industry. It did nothing to lower the exorbitant prices 
of prescription drugs, and yet it provides windfall profits to these 
very drug companies.
  The bill is known as the Medicare Prescription Drug Modernization 
Act, and it was passed in this Chamber only after the Republican 
leadership bent their own rules during an all-night session to hold 
open the vote past the normal 15 minutes to nearly 3 hours as they 
twisted arms to get the bill passed.
  I supported the Democratic plan that would have really provided an 
affordable drug plan for our seniors. Among the shortcomings of the law 
that seniors are now dealing with is that our government is not 
permitted to negotiate with the drug companies for the best price. I 
tried to get that amendment included in the bill and waited up in the 
Rules Committee until 4:30 in the morning and was denied my ability to 
offer that particular amendment. I shall never forget that moment.
  The current program also prohibits seniors in America from buying 
reimported drugs from countries like Canada. Does that make any sense? 
Well, it makes lots of ``cents,'' in fact, millions and millions of 
dollars for the drug companies that want to bar our seniors, 
particularly those in the North and in the South who can go to other 
places to buy the very same drugs that are for sale in this country at 
exorbitant prices.
  The plan that passed here in the Congress was jerry-rigged in that it 
requires seniors to pay thousands of dollars for prescription drugs 
before they reach the $5,000 cap. How are they going to get those 
thousands of dollars?
  The bill that passed has a big hole right in the middle that is going 
to come out of the pockets of our seniors in additional premium costs.
  The Bush plan also intends to phase out the traditional Medicare 
program starting in 2010 for almost 7 million seniors, saying that they 
would no longer need to have a defined benefit plan, but they would get 
a voucher and could go on to the private market and try to get 
affordable prescription drugs.
  Well, tell me now, how affordable do you think that can be? The 
Republican law, in essence, fails to provide a guaranteed prescription 
drug benefit plan through the traditional Medicare program that is 
affordable.
  Until such full coverage is possible, I would urge my colleagues to 
support the Pharmaceutical Market Access Act of 2005, H.R. 328, which 
would allow reimportation.
  Finally, in closing, let me say, H.R. 376 would permit the Government 
of the United States to negotiate the best price for our seniors, and I 
would urge our seniors to call their area Office on Aging to get advice 
on what to do in the current situation until we can improve this bill.

                  Seniors Try To Decipher Drug Options

                           (By Luke Shockman)

       Bob Cain speaks for many senior citizens when the subject 
     is Medicare's new prescription drug plan.
       ``It's confusing,'' he said as he stood outside a senior 
     center in Toledo's Uptown neighborhood. ``I got the big book 
     [from Medicare], and I looked on the Internet. But I'm a 
     college graduate, and I couldn't understand it.''
       Over and over, in senior centers, nursing homes, assisted-
     living complexes, and around kitchen tables nationwide, 
     senior citizens and their family members are trying to make 
     sense of Medicare's drug plan.
       It hasn't been pretty.
       ``I don't think I've met any seniors who are [happy] with 
     it,'' said Julie Dangelo, executive director of Senior 
     Centers Inc., the senior center where Mr. Cain frequents. 
     ``Everybody is confused.''
       That said, Ms. Dangelo and other senior advocates have a 
     message for the 43 million Americans on Medicare: Yes, this 
     is confusing, and you are certainly free to complain about 
     it. But ready or not, the clock on the decision-making 
     process will begin ticking Nov. 15.
       By May 15, seniors will have to decide whether to sign up 
     for Medicare's drug program. If they participate, they must 
     determine which drug-plan option is best for them.
       Despite all the hassle, the federal government expects 
     seniors who take part in the program could end up saving 
     quite a bit on their prescription-drug costs. Those with low 
     income or on Medicaid likely will have all or most of their 
     drug costs covered by Medicare--above and beyond the standard 
     financial help available through the new program.
       In an effort to alleviate confusion for seniors and their 
     family members facing this important decision, The Blade has 
     gone to experts and senior advocates to answer some basic 
     questions.
       So, what should you do first? Relax.
       ``You don't need to make a decision right now. There's no 
     rush,'' said Kathy Keller, a spokesman for AARP Ohio. ``Don't 
     jump and say, `It's Nov. 15 and I have to make a decision.' 
     Collect all the information, and get your questions answered 
     before doing anything.''
       The deadline for taking action and picking a plan is not 
     Nov. 15 but May 15. However, seniors who wait until after May 
     15 likely will face penalties and have to pay higher premiums 
     and other costs.
       The first thing seniors need to decide is whether they 
     should even join a Medicare prescription-drug plan. If 
     seniors get their drug benefits through a retirement plan 
     from their union or former employer, they already might be 
     receiving a better deal than what Medicare will provide. By 
     law, those former employers or unions have to send a letter 
     telling seniors whether that's the case. Veterans eligible to 
     receive drug benefits through the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs get a better deal through the VA, for example, so 
     they should stick with that.
       If Medicare's drug plan does sound like it might be a good 
     option, the most important thing seniors will need to have 
     available when picking a plan--or when talking to someone who 
     will be assisting in selecting a plan--is a list of all the 
     drugs they are taking, the dosage amounts, and how often they 
     take the drug. That's a list that doctors say seniors should 
     have handy whether they choose to go with a Medicare drug 
     plan or not.
       Another key piece of information for seniors to know is 
     whether they qualify for extra financial assistance. The 
     Medicare drug program, in its standard form, doesn't cover 
     all expenses. However, for many low-income seniors, including 
     those on Medicaid, there is extra financial help available. 
     Medicaid recipients automatically qualify.
       Those not on Medicaid will need to apply for the help, 
     which is available to those making less than $14,355 annually 
     ($19,245 as a couple). The Social Security Administration 
     handles applications, and seniors can call 1-800-772-1213 to 
     learn if they qualify.
       And remember, there are many people and places with 
     resources available to help seniors in need of help in making 
     these decisions. Use them. While insurance companies will 
     have a vested interest in the plans that seniors choose, area 
     senior centers and many pharmacies and doctors offices are 
     offering assistance, and there's a host of toll-free phone 
     numbers available.
       Perhaps the best advice for seniors right now: Take your 
     time in making a decision.

     

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