Prescription drugs represent the largest out-of-pocket health care cost for seniors. Drug expenditures have grown at double-digit rates almost every year since 1980. In 2001, drug spending rose a shocking 17 percent, and prices have continued to rise far faster than inflation. In response to the growing need for prescription drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries, Congress passed the Medicare Prescription Drug, Modernization, and Improvement Act (MMA) in 2003.

I helped lead the fight for a prescription drug benefit and was deeply disappointed that I could not vote for the final version of the Medicare prescription drug benefit that will become available on January 1, 2006. Unfortunately, its provisions were designed more to benefit special interest groups than to help America’s seniors. Moreover, as seniors are learning, the law is far too complex.

In October 2005, Medicare unveiled information about the Medicare prescription drug plans that are available in Illinois. Since then, Medicare beneficiaries have been facing a dizzying array of questions and a barrage of confusing offers from private insurers. Beneficiaries will have to decide whether to enroll in the Medicare drug benefit and, if so, which drug plan to select. Those who have existing prescription drug coverage will first have to determine how their current drug coverage will be affected and, if continued, whether their current coverage will be more or less comprehensive than the Medicare drug benefit. If they determine that the Medicare drug benefit is preferable to other coverage, they then will have to decide which private Medicare drug plan works best for them, a process that involves determining which drugs would be covered by each plan, what the premium and cost-sharing requirements would be, and which pharmacies would be part of each plan's network. They will also have to decide whether to: 1) enroll in traditional fee-for-service Medicare and join a drug-only private Medicare plan; or 2) enroll in a private Medicare Advantage plan (HMO or PPO) instead of traditional Medicare, which would provide drug coverage as well as coverage for hospital and doctor services.

While the Medicare drug benefit is not structured in a way that will truly expand access to affordable prescription drugs for our nation's seniors, I am dedicated to ensuring that beneficiaries receive the information they need to make informed decisions. I will also continue to work to correct the deep flaws in the new Medicare drug benefit.

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