Mikulski Supports Up-Or-Down Vote to Stand With Maryland's Seniors

March 24, 2010

 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) announced support for a simple up-or-down vote to lower prescription drug costs for seniors in Maryland and around the country. Senator Mikulski joined Senate Democrats to support The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which the President signed into law on Tuesday. Now the Senate is considering improving this legislation by further lowering the cost of prescription drugs in Medicare’s prescription drug coverage gap, known as the “donut hole”

“Seniors in Maryland and across the country are being crushed by rising costs of prescription drugs.  The time is now to close the ‘donut hole,’” said Senator Mikulski.  “We cannot allow our parents and grandparents to be forced to choose between food and medicine – especially when the opportunity exists to close the ‘donut hole’ and lower the costs of prescription drugs.”

Included in the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872) are provisions that would give the nation’s seniors a $250 rebate for drug costs in the coverage gap in 2010. .  It is estimated that 132,000 Maryland seniors will benefit from this new drug rebate this year.  Today’s legislation also would close the coverage gap altogether by providing a 50% discount on drug costs in 2011 and annually increasing it to 75% in 2020

The ‘donut hole’ is the gap between the initial prescription drug coverage limit and the catastrophic limit. After someone goes beyond the initial drug coverage limit, they are financially responsible for the entire cost of prescription drugs up until the catastrophic coverage threshold.

According to some estimates, 15% of seniors stop taking their medication once they enter the ‘donut hole.’ Between 2008 and 2009, prescription costs rose 10% even as drug companies continued to be the third most profitable industry in America.
 
In addition to closing the donut hole, these improvements would ensure that the newly passed health reform law reduces the deficit even more and covers 32 million uninsured Americans.