Late in 2003, Congress enacted one of the biggest changes to Medicare in the 35 history of the health insurance program for seniors. For the first time, Medicare will pay for a limited prescription drug benefit for some seniors. Beginning in May of 2004, eligible seniors and disabled Americans began signing up for discount drug cards under the new program.

Unfortunately, like many things promoted by the Bush Administration and the Majority leaders in Congress, this new law looks good on the surface but is really enormously confusing, will offer a very limited benefit to seniors, and will offer a very large benefit to the special interest groups that helped to write it.

The Medicare law was born and amid controversy. As you may recall, at 5:53 am on Saturday morning, November 22, 2003, the House of Representatives voted 220 to 215 to approve H.R. 1, the bill to expand Medicare to include a prescription drug benefit and begin efforts to privatize Medicare services. Normally, members of Congress are given fifteen minutes to vote on a bill. This vote was held open for three hours as the Speaker and Majority Leader sought to turn a few last votes in favor of the president’s plan. For most of the three hours, the plan did not have enough votes to win. After the final arms had ben twisted, the bill narrowly passed.

Congressman Miller and the vast majority of House Democrats voted against it. Miller strongly favor establishing a prescription drug benefit under Medicare – but one that truly makes prescription drugs affordable and guaranteed for seniors and without privatizing the program. Unfortunately, the bill signed into law by President Bush does not make prescription medicine affordable to most seniors, does not hold down drug prices, does not allow the government to negotiate lower prices with pharmaceutical companies, and does not sufficiently protect current retiree plans. It pressures seniors to join HMOs, raises premiums, and endangers existing Medicare coverage for millions of retirees.

The first step in implementing this law is to issue discount drug cards. Like the Republican drug law, the new drug discount card program is run by big drug and insurance companies. Medicare doesn’t determine or guarantee the drug discount, the corporate sponsors do. Seniors can only choose one drug discount plan, they are locked into this plan for a year, with no guarantee that during that time their discount plan won’t change.

Congressman Miller and other Democrats are fighting for common sense measures like allowing the government to negotiate drug discounts and allowing seniors and people with disabilities to import safe drugs from Canada, which would result in real savings for senior and lower drug prices nationwide.

In the pages that follow below you will find a series of documents and other useful information regarding the Medicare prescription drug legislation.

1. A chart on primary objections to the bill (pdf file)
   
2. Talking points on the bill (pdf file)
   
3. A fact sheet on how the premium support provision unravels Medicare (pdf file)
   
4. A fact sheet on the drug discount card (pdf file)
   
5. What health and consumer groups are saying about the Bush Administration’s Drug Discount Card (pdf file)
   
6. Medicare Rx Discount Card Q & A (pdf file)

   To read PDF files, click the free link below to download Adobe Acrobat Reader
   

Additional information