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Illustration: Elwood
Smith
by Barry Yeoman
In February, President Bush outlined his
fiscal year 2003 federal budget, which included several provisions
that would make it easier for older adults to obtain prescription
medications at a reasonable cost. The President stopped short
of providing details for how Medicare could be expanded to include
drug benefits. But he did call for a few first steps:
- Creating a Drug Card program to help older adults get lower
prices at the pharmacy. These cards would not be issued by the
government, but rather by private companies with the Medicare
program's seal of approval.
- Permitting states to provide drug-only coverage to low-income
Medicare beneficiaries. This would be accomplished through the
Medicaid program or by existing state prescription drug
programs.
- Authorizing two new private Medigap plans with prescription
drug benefits and catastrophic protection. Currently, only three
of the 10 standardized Medigap plans cover medication, and the
White House admits that these plans are "prohibitively expensive."
Nothing, however, would require private insurers to actually offer
the new plans.
Bush's proposal is only the starting point for the debate over
prescription drug coverage. This spring and summer, various members
of Congress will be unveiling their own proposals, many of them with
a higher level of funding than the President's plan. For instance,
AARP has called on Congress to pass a $350 billion drug benefit
(plus a $400 billion reserve fund).
Although the specifics of each plan were not known at press time,
most plans will fall into one of two categories. Some will call for
the expansion of Medicare to cover prescription drugs, with the
government administering the benefit. Others will call for the drug
benefit to be administered through the private sector. Several
consumer groups are wary of any measure that would privatize
prescription drug benefits. "The reason Medicare was created was
because the private market does not serve seniors," says Ben Peck, a
lobbyist for the watchdog group Public Citizen.
Public Citizen and AARP update their
Web sites regularly with information about Medicare legislation.
Both sites permit you to register for periodic e-mail updates, and
AARP allows you to write to President Bush and members of Congress.
Also check out a recent three-part AARP
Bulletin series on prescription drugs (the May issue examines
the money drug companies spend on lawsuits and lobbying).
You can also call the White House directly at (202) 456-1414 and
your senators and representatives at (202) 224-3121. Tell them you
support legislation to make affordable prescription drug coverage
available to everyone with Medicare. | 
