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U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, joined several of his Democratic colleagues at a press conference on Capitol Hill this afternoon to highlight some of the problems seniors and pharmacists are facing with the new prescription drug plan back in New Jersey. The New Jersey congressman gave the following statement.
"Since January 1st, New Jersey seniors have expressed confusion over the new prescription drug plan. Last week, I held a town hall meeting with seniors at the Edison Senior Center in Edison, New Jersey. I brought Medicare specialists in from both the state and federal level to walk seniors through the program in the hopes that we could alleviate some of that confusion.
"Unfortunately, I don't think we'll see a substantial number of seniors sign up for the plan simply by educating them about their options. I believe the vast majority of seniors have already determined that they will not benefit from the drug plan, and have chosen simply not to sign up. That's what I heard at my town hall meeting last week, and it is supported by the fact that only 4.9 million of the 42 million seniors have voluntarily signed up for the program. At my town hall forum last week well over half of the seniors in the room still hadn't signed up for a prescription drug plan.
"They also don't understand why the Congress and the President specifically prohibited the Secretary of Health and Human Services from negotiating lower prices for their prescription drugs. I had one senior ask me why the program was set up that way, and I had to tell him the truth---pharmaceutical manufacturers demanded it. This program was not designed for seniors. It was designed to help the special interest friends of Washington Republicans in the pharmaceutical and insurance industries.
"I also talked with community pharmacists in my district earlier this month at a local pharmacy, and like the seniors they serve, they're confused and frustrated with the new program. Pharmacists don't understand why they must endure late and inadequate payments for the prescriptions they dispense.
"They also don't understand why the Bush administration has allowed the private drug plans and large chain pharmacies, like Wal-Mart and Walgreens, to 'co-brand' or collaborate on the marketing materials that are sent to beneficiaries. For example, a senior's membership card usually will have the name of the plan on it and the name of the co-branding pharmacy chain.
"As a result, many beneficiaries are under the assumption that they can only get their prescription drugs at those pharmacies. They don't know that in most cases, their old pharmacist, who they have been going to for years, also participates in their plan's preferred provider network.
"I tell frustrated pharmacists the same thing I tell the seniors. The reason this program is so complex and confusing is that Washington Republicans weren't thinking of seniors or the neighborhood pharmacists when they devised this plan with lobbyists from the pharmaceutical and insurance industries. It was all done for their special interest friends. As a result, both independent pharmacists and seniors are suffering." |
