[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 693]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         THE MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG EMERGENCY GUARANTEE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN D. DINGELL

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 1, 2006

  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, after the first month of implementation of 
the Medicare private drug plan, it is clear that a number of measures 
are needed to ensure that seniors and Americans with disabilities who 
need prescription drugs do not leave the pharmacy empty-handed or 
overcharged.
  Representatives Brown of Ohio, Rangel, Stark, Waxman, Spratt, and I 
are introducing legislation today to make sure seniors are guaranteed 
the prescription drug relief they were promised in 2003 and deserve 
today.
  This bill would do the following:
  Ensure beneficiaries get at least 60 days of needed medicines, 
whether or not the pharmacist can verify the plan they are in or 
whether or not the drug they need is covered by their plan.
  Eliminate red tape for pharmacists by allowing the pharmacy to bill 
Medicare directly. Medicare would then collect the payments from the 
drug plans.
  Ensure beneficiaries can navigate the complex system, by providing a 
standard notice and appeals process and information on how to locate a 
more suitable plan when a person's drug is not covered by the plan.
  Protect beneficiaries from losing coverage of needed medicines during 
the year they are enrolled by not allowing plans to change what drugs 
they will pay for during that year.
  Finally, for all those who actually paid more than they should have 
for their medications, this bill requires Medicare to reimburse them, 
as well as any others who have stepped in to pay the costs for seniors 
and those with disabilities when they were denied or overcharged for 
their medicines. Medicare should be cutting through the red tape, not 
the beneficiaries or their pharmacist.
  Democrats have also introduced legislation that focuses on the major 
structural problems built into the program designed by the Republicans 
and their industry friends. But today we introduce this bill to 
alleviate some of the short-term and transition problems that have 
arisen with the current ill-conceived Medicare prescription drug 
benefit.
  This Administration has failed in providing seniors and people with 
disabilities with a smooth transition to prescription drug coverage. 
Let us not fail them again by ignoring the immediate problems.

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