House Republican leaders today outlined a new proposal to help Medicare beneficiaries purchase prescription drug coverage. Many details of this plan are yet to be spelled out, but we are pleased that this proposal moves beyond the prescription drug benefit developed by the Medicare Commission - a proposal that would have provided prescription drug coverage only to low-income older Americans - to providing prescription drug coverage to all older and disabled Americans in Medicare.

As we understand it, the proposal would provide a full subsidy for low-income beneficiaries without jeopardizing Medicare's social insurance foundation. In addition, it has the potential for reducing the premiums that all older Americans would pay for their Medicare prescription drug coverage by providing a government subsidy for those people in Medicare who have extraordinarily high drug costs.

AARP supports a prescription drug benefit in Medicare that would be available to and affordable for all beneficiaries. Many questions must be answered about this proposal before we can judge whether it meets these criteria. Among these questions: Would the level of federal subsidy, which is the same as in the President's proposal, prove adequate to attract the broad risk pool that is needed to make the coverage affordable for the vast majority of beneficiaries? Would this public-private partnership, with its many implementation details, prove workable?

At this early stage, we believe this proposal has merit and should be explored carefully. AARP is prepared to work with the proponents of this idea, as well as with other Members of Congress and the President on a bipartisan basis, to help shape a Medicare prescription drug benefit that will meet the needs of older Americans today and in the future.