Friday, September 29, 2006
CONTACT: Barry E. Piatt
or Brenden Timpe
PHONE: 202-224-2551
DORGAN SAYS NEW DRUG PLAN ANNOUNCEMENT WILL MAKE MEDICARE MORE CONFUSING
Senator says North Dakota seniors now must wade through 53 drug plans
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said Friday the new list of Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, which includes a total of 53 plans that North Dakota seniors must sort through, will make the drug plan only more confusing.
Last year, North Dakota offered a confusing list of 41 Medicare prescription drug plans that left many seniors struggling to find one that would benefit them. This year’s expanded list, which was announced Friday by the Department of Health and Human Services, will compound the problems, Dorgan said. Unfortunately, the Republican leadership has stood in the way of Congressional action to improve the program or fix the large cap in coverage often called the “donut hole.”
“The Medicare prescription drug program has been implemented poorly, but there are things we can do to make it easier and fairer for our seniors,” Dorgan said. “This program is a complex array of choices and we need to make it less confusing, not more.”
Dorgan has offered legislation that would allow the federal government to use its bargaining power to negotiate lower drug prices for the Medicare program. With the savings, the donut hole could be entirely filled to eliminate the gap in prescription drug coverage.
Dorgan also has offered legislation that would waive the monthly Medicare Part D premiums for any month a senior is trapped in the doughnut hole.
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