CONGRESSWOMAN EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON ANNOUNCES NEW ANALYSIS THAT SHOWS THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF THE REPUBLICAN MEDICARE PLAN ON THE 30^TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF TEXAS

Washington, DC – (Tuesday, June 14, 2011)Today, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson released the latest analysis showing how the Republican Medicare plan will negatively impact residents of the 30^th Congressional District of Texas. The Republican plan raises costs for seniors and individuals with disabilities enrolled in Medicare, reduces their benefits, and puts private insurance companies in charge of the program. The proposal would also increase the cost of Medicare by more than $6,000 per year for future beneficiaries.

The Republican proposal would have adverse impacts on seniors and disabled individuals in the 30^th Congressional District of Texas who are currently enrolled in Medicare. It would:

 Increase prescription drug costs for 4,800 Medicare beneficiaries in the district who enter the Part D donut hole, forcing them to pay an extra $47 million for drugs over the next decade.

• Eliminate new preventive care benefits for 71,000 Medicare beneficiaries in the district.

 The Republican proposal would have even greater impacts on individuals in the 30^th Congressional District of Texas who are age 54 and younger and are not currently enrolled in Medicare. It would:

 Deny 630,000 individuals age 54 and younger in the district access to Medicare’s guaranteed benefits.

• Increase the out-of-pocket costs of health coverage by over $6,000 per year in 2022 and by almost $12,000 per year in 2032 for the 102,000 individuals in the district who are between the ages of 44 and 54.
• Require the 102,000 individuals in the district between the ages of 44 and 54 to save an additional $23.8 billion for their retirement – an average of $182,000 to $287,000 per individual – to pay for the increased cost of health coverage over their lifetimes. Younger residents of the district will have to save even higher amounts to cover their additional medical costs.
• Raise the Medicare eligibility age by at least one year to age 66 or more for 58,000 individuals in the district who are age 44 to 49 and by two years to age 67 for 525,000 individuals in the district who are age 43 or younger.

“The Republican proposal would immediately cut benefits and would require current Medicare beneficiaries in my congressional district to pay an extra $47 million for prescription drugs over the next decade.  That is why I am fighting to stop this reckless Republican plan to end Medicare as we know it," said Congresswoman Johnson.

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U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is Ranking Member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. She is also the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure. She represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas that includes Downtown Dallas, Fair Park, Oak Lawn, Turtle Creek,Old East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, & South Oak Cliff; all of Balch Springs, DeSoto, Hutchins, Lancaster & Wilmer and parts of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Ferris, Glenn Heights and Ovilla.