For the many Medicare beneficiaries who cannot afford their prescription medications, the endless rise in drug costs is a tough pill to swallow. Therefore, AARP is encouraged by the administration's commitment to strengthen its Medicare discount drug card proposal.

Although the resulting consumer savings are likely to be modest, the card would provide at least some help to beneficiaries in buying the drugs they need. More significantly, the card would be a building block and give us a head start in the two-year (or longer) process of establishing full Medicare drug coverage.

With this card, the government and consumers will learn valuable lessons about the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) who manage discount card programs and are included in virtually every drug benefit proposal before Congress.

We intend to work with the administration to define what will constitute a "substantial" discount. We must be sure consumers can compare drug card discount rates to actual retail prices. We must also ensure that consumers get generic drugs whenever they are medically appropriate and the least costly option.