AARP applauds the pharmaceutical manufacturers—Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Astra Zeneca, Abbott, and Aventis—that are coming together to create a new consortium drug card providing access to prescription drug discounts.

This new card should be helpful to many Medicare beneficiaries because of the expanded eligibility criteria. And the bundling of several manufactures' discounts into one card can simplify the discount process. We will inform our members about this new program, as well as others that provide assistance to consumers.

This new card should be a useful step, but it remains well short of the comprehensive program that is required to meet the needs of Medicare beneficiaries. None of the industry programs include all drugs, nor all Medicare beneficiaries, and do not provide the necessary stability that can only be gained by enacting full drug coverage within Medicare.

America needs a comprehensive prescription drug program that seniors will recognize as providing real value, and in which they will participate. We are calling on the Congress and the pharmaceutical industry to work with us on a sufficiently funded, universal, and affordable prescription drug benefit in Medicare this year.