Bush Radio: "Making good progress" on his F-ed up Medicare Program

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Today I want to talk to you about the new Medicare prescription drug coverage that went into effect on January 1st of this year.

When I came into office, I found a Medicare system that was antiquated and not meeting the needs of America's seniors. The system would pay tens of thousands of dollars for a surgery, but not a few hundred dollars for the prescription drugs that could have prevented the surgery in the first place. So working with Congress, we passed critical legislation that modernizes Medicare, provides seniors with more choices, and gives seniors better access to the prescription drugs they need.

Since the program went into effect six weeks ago, more than 24 million people with Medicare now have prescription drug coverage, and hundreds of thousands more are enrolling each week. The competition in the prescription drug market has been stronger than expected and is lowering costs for taxpayers and seniors alike. This year, the Federal government will spend 20 percent less overall on the Medicare drug benefit than projected just last July. The average premium that seniors pay is a third less than had been expected -- just $25 per month, instead of $37 per month. And the typical senior will end up spending about half of what they used to spend on prescription drugs each year.

Last month in Oklahoma City, a senior named Dorothy Brown signed up for Medicare prescription drug coverage. Dorothy has six prescriptions, and previously she paid about $300 a month for her medicines. A Medicare enrollment counselor at a shopping mall helped Dorothy log on to the Medicare website, where she typed the information on Dorothy's Medicare card and listed Dorothy's prescriptions. When the counselor was finished, the computer showed five different plans that fit Dorothy's needs. Dorothy chose the least-expensive plan -- and now, instead of paying $300 a month, she will pay about $36 a month for her medicines. And as a result, Dorothy will save more than $3,000 this year.

For Dorothy and for the vast majority of our seniors, the new prescription drug program is working well. Still, when you make a big change in a program involving millions of people, there are bound to be some challenges, and this has been the case with the new drug coverage. Some people had trouble the first time they went to the pharmacy after enrolling. Information for some beneficiaries was not transferred smoothly between Medicare, drug plans, and the states. And in the early days of the drug coverage, waiting times were far too long for many customers and pharmacists who called Medicare or their drug plans to seek help.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt has traveled to 18 states in the past three weeks to meet with governors and make sure the prescription drug program is working for everyone, and we're making good progress. We're ensuring that drug plans have more up-to-date information on their beneficiaries, and we're improving data-sharing among Medicare, health plans, and the states. We have also extended the transition period from 30 days to 90 days, to guarantee that seniors do not go without the medicine they need as they switch to a new drug plan. We have also acted to ensure that phone calls to the Medicare help line are now answered with little or no waiting time, and we're working with insurers to help them do the same on their phone lines.

Despite early challenges, the results so far are clear: The new Medicare prescription drug plan is a good deal for seniors. If you're a Medicare recipient and have not yet signed up for prescription drug coverage, I encourage you to review your options and choose the plan that is right for you. Americans who have parents on Medicare should encourage and help them to sign up. Citizen groups, faith-based organizations, health professionals, and pharmacies across America are working to help answer questions. Seniors can also get information 24 hours a day by calling 1-800-MEDICARE or by visiting the official Medicare website at Medicare.gov.

Prescription drug coverage under Medicare has been available for just a few weeks, but its benefits will last for decades to come. I was proud to sign this Medicare reform into law. And because we acted, millions of American seniors are now saving money, getting the life-saving drugs they need, and receiving the modern health care they deserve.

Thank you for listening.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/02/20060211.html

Pelosi: Confusing Medicare Prescription Drug Program Hurts America's Seniors

2/10/2006 6:33:00 PM

To: National Desk

Contact: Brendan Daly or Jennifer Crider, 202-226-7616, both of the Office of House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi; Web: http://democraticleader.house.gov

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 10 /U.S. Newswire/ -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi held a town meeting today with seniors at the Dorothy Day Community Center in San Francisco to discuss the confusing Medicare prescription drug program. The town meeting was the first of many events that House Democrats will hold across the country this month to discuss the Democratic plan to provide seniors with a real prescription drug benefit.

"Good morning to all of you. I'm honored that so many of you turned out this morning to have a conversation about an issue that is personal to the lives of America's seniors and disabled: How will you have access to prescription drugs, which are essential to your good health?

"As we meet here today, there will be many workshops, town hall meetings, and press events across the country that Democrats are holding in order to listen to their constituents to exchange ideas about how this can be made to work for you or be replaced. We call it this prescription drug for Medicare Part D, for Disaster. That is how we've seen it have an effect on the American people.

"Democrats have certain fundamental principles that we think a prescription drug benefit should contain. It should be a guaranteed and defined benefit, it should not have huge coverage gaps, and it should reduce the price seniors pay for prescription drugs. But none of that is contained in this Medicare bill.

"Hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries across the country have been unable to get their needed prescriptions, have faced outrageous delays, and have been over-charged. And this is supposed to be a new benefit. Many of the 6.2 million Americans who enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid, the dual eligibles, are now worse off. Tens of thousands of beneficiaries have been turned away from pharmacies without their prescriptions.

"Twenty-six states, more than half the states in our country, have had to intervene to insure the low-income beneficiaries can obtain the drugs, with many states declaring public health emergencies.

"Democrats believe that we must replace this misguided Republican Medicare prescription drug benefit plan with one that is clear, fair, and puts seniors, not the pharmaceutical companies, first. Democrats are fighting for emergency measures right now. The Republican bill is terrible. We would like to replace it; that is our goal. It is essential that we do so.

"We are fighting for emergency measures that would ensure that all beneficiaries get their prescriptions by allowing pharmacies to bill Medicare directly during this transition period. They should be able to do that. Seniors and the disabled are entitled to their benefit. Let the pharmacy bill Medicare immediately, and extend the enrollment period at least six months.

"Democrats insist on giving the government the authority to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices. This was specifically prohibited in the bill. Imagine, having a provision in the bill that prohibits the government from negotiating for lower prices. Do you know why that was in there? Because the pharmaceutical industry insisted that it be in there. If you put them first, seniors are going to go last and pay the price.

"Democrats are also fighting to allow Medicare beneficiaries to obtain prescriptions from Canada without any penalty. But make no mistake: that does not take our eye off the ball of replacing this to begin with.

"I want you to know that as we meet here today, a series of these meetings will happen across the country, just as Democrats did on Social Security. We had over 1,000 town meetings on Social Security across the country; there was a drumbeat across America. People understood that the privatization of Social Security was the ending of Social Security.

"This Medicare prescription drug bill is brought to you by the same people who brought you the privatization of Social Security. It should go the same route."

http://www.usnewswire.com/

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=60859

[acmavm]

1. Why can't we all have a prescription for whatever drugs the pResident

seems to be on?

[LiberalinNC]

2. Oh goodie the repugs are trying to "fix" medicare, seeing that they

originally didn't want it at all.