[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 7351]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  MEDICARE PART D ENROLLMENT DEADLINE

  (Mrs. CAPPS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, the May 15 Medicare part D enrollment 
deadline is now 6 days away; but a significant number of eligible 
beneficiaries do not even know that. The enrollment deadline is 6 days 
away, and eligible beneficiaries don't know about the penalty fee they 
would incur for the rest of their lives.
  Mr. Speaker, the enrollment deadline is 6 days away, but call centers 
are still giving eligible beneficiaries inaccurate or incomplete 
information. This Sunday, sons and daughters should be spending time 
with their mothers taking them to brunch or showering them with gifts, 
not trying to navigate a complex Web site or holding onto the phone.
  The administration's insistence on this deadline is offensive to 
millions of Medicare beneficiaries. Many of them are telling me just 
that, and many are the most vulnerable in our society.
  I urge my colleagues to press for extending the deadline for part D 
enrollment. We owe it to the unenrolled seniors and seniors who are 
disabled, who need more time to figure out this complex program. We owe 
it to all beneficiaries so that we can continue fixing the many flaws 
of the Medicare prescription drug plan.

                          ____________________