Congressman Rahm Emanuel - Press Release Header

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2003
 

Emanuel Statement

 

House-Passed Bill Ensures Government Employees
and Retirees Keep Current Drug Coverage but Highlights Deficiencies in Medicare Bill

Emanuel Focuses on Strategies to Lower Drug Costs, Better Medicare Benefit
WASHINGTON, D.C.—On July 8, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill which promises that federal government employees and retirees who are covered by Medicare will not have their current prescription drug coverage reduced because of the expected passage of a new Medicare drug benefit. 

 

In doing this, the federal government sets an important example for other employers, in stating that federal employees and retirees will not lose their current drug coverage simply because they are eligible for new Medicare drug benefits.  However, the fact that such legislation is necessary is a glaring reminder of the inadequacies of the Medicare drug benefit bill that passed the House on June 26. 

 

In the months leading up to the passage of the Medicare bill, President Bush and other Members of Congress have stated that our nation’s seniors deserve the same kind of drug benefit enjoyed by lawmakers and all federal employees.  But the bills that passed the House and the Senate last week fall far short of achieving this.  In fact, the benefit likely to be available in the final Medicare drug bill is about half as valuable as the benefit available to federal employees, leaving many seniors with very high drug costs.

 

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that about one-third of employers would stop offering retiree coverage as a result of the passage of the Medicare drug benefit.  Almost all of the individuals who lose their current coverage will receive worse coverage through the proposal.

 

The authors of the House bill were forced to make difficult choices in order to design a drug benefit that fit within the $400 billion budget allotment.  However, if the bill had included effective measures to reduce drug costs, it would be possible to provide much better drug coverage for the same amount of money – even, possibly, drug coverage that comes close to what Members of Congress and other federal employees count on and enjoy for themselves. 

 

As the House and Senate Medicare bills are reconciled by a conference committee, I will continue to fight for provisions in the final bill that lower drug costs for American consumers and American taxpayers, including provisions that make generic drugs more available and give Americans access to the much lower drug prices in Canada and other industrialized nations.  By lowering drug prices for American consumers and for the federal government, we can help give America’s seniors the more comprehensive drug coverage they deserve.

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