TITLE: Medicare Reform: Providing Prescription Drug Coverage for Seniors

CIS-NO: 2001-H361-1  
SOURCE: Committee on Energy and Commerce. House  
DOC-TYPE: Hearing Retrieve the full text of testimony  
DATE: Feb. 15, 2001  
LENGTH: iii+94 p.  
CONG-SESS: 107-1  
ITEM-NO: 1019-A-01; 1019-B-01  
SUDOC: Y4.C73/8:107-1  
MC-ENTRY-NO: 2001-15798  
 
GPO-STOCK-NO: 552-070-26961-4.

SUMMARY:
Committee Serial No. 107-1. Hearing before the Subcom on Health to examine proposals to establish an outpatient prescription drug benefit for medicare beneficiaries.
 
Supplementary material (p. 92-94) includes witnesses' written replies to Subcom questions.

CONTENT-NOTATION: Medicare prescription drug benefit proposals

DESCRIPTORS:  
   SUBCOM ON HEALTH, ENERGY AND COMMERCE. HOUSE;  MEDICARE; DRUGS; MEDICAL REGULATION; MANAGED HEALTH CARE

01-H361-1 TESTIMONY NO: 1     Feb. 15, 2001 p. 20-94
 
WITNESSES (and witness notations):
   KESSLER, SYLVIA (Member, National Committee To Preserve Social Security and Medicare)
   JONES, JOHN (Vice President, Legal and Regulatory, Prescription Solutions)
   MORONI, ROBERT D. (Assistant Director, Health Care Plans, General Motors Corp)
   ROWLAND, DIANE (Executive Vice President, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
   WELLER, WILLIAM (Assistant Vice President and Chief Actuary, Health Insurance Association)
   BUCKLEY, BARBARA E. (State Representative, Nevada)
   SMITH, JAMES F. (Senior Vice President, Health Care Services, CVS Corp.; also representing National Association of Chain Drug Stores)
 
STATEMENTS AND DISCUSSION:
   Overview of Prescription Solutions approach to managing prescription drug costs; review of sources of prescription drug coverage for medicare beneficiaries, with support for establishment of medicare prescription drug benefit (related graphs, p. 39-46).
   Concerns regarding impact of increased costs resulting from proposed prescription drug coverage on senior citizens covered by medigap and other supplemental insurance plans; need to include a pharmacy benefit in proposed medicare prescription drug benefit; issues related to medicare prescription benefit proposals.
 
CONTENT NOTATION:
   Medicare prescription drug benefit proposals
 
TESTIMONY DESCRIPTORS:
   KAISER, HENRY J., FAMILY FOUNDATION; NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO PRESERVE SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE; PRESCRIPTION SOLUTIONS; GENERAL MOTORS CORP.; HEALTH INSURANCE ASSOCIATION; CVS CORP.; NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHAIN DRUG STORES; STATISTICAL DATA: HEALTH AND VITAL STATISTICS; AGED AND AGING; HEALTH INSURANCE; PHARMACISTS AND PHARMACY

LOAD-DATE: November 22, 2002