Obama and Salazar ask administration to correct Medicare Part D
Monday, December 12, 2005
Printable FormatMONMOUTH DAILY REVIEW ATLAS
WASHINGTON - On the 2nd anniversary of the enactment of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, U.S. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Ken Salazar (D-CO) sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael O. Leavitt requesting that the Department outline the steps it has taken to correct misinformation it distributed, improve its ability to respond to and answer seniors' questions, and prevent fraud.
"Given the enormous health and financial implications, Americans have every right to expect that the benefit plan will be implemented in an efficient, comprehensible and fair manner," Obama and Salazar said. "Two years after the enactment of this bill, we are deeply troubled by recent newspaper reports and complaints we have received from constituents that highlight flaws in the implementation of the Medicare drug benefit."
In their letter, Obama and Salazar said they were troubled by reports that the 2006 Medicare & You handbook mailed to 42 million beneficiaries contained significant errors regarding the monthly premiums that plans will charge low-income enrollees. The Senators asked Secretary Leavitt to outline actions HHS has taken to correct this and other misinformation, as well as explain steps it has taken improve its ability to respond to and answer questions and protect seniors from fraud. They requested a response by January 3, 2006.
"We were not members of Congress in 2003 when the Medicare Modernization Act was enacted," Obama and Salazar said. "We therefore have no political stake in defending or criticizing the merits of the law that created the prescription drug benefit. As public servants, however, we have every interest in ensuring that seniors and people with disabilities receive reliable, accurate information; that the federal government prohibits insurers and agents from victimizing seniors in the marketing of the plans; that seniors and people with disabilities get the assistance necessary to make informed choices; and that the prescription benefit is properly implemented."