At long last Congress has an opportunity to pass a comprehensive affordable voluntary prescription drug benefit that is part of the Medicare program. Opportunity is knocking. The question is whether the Senate will answer the call.

I am here because the National Committee strongly endorses S. 2625, the Graham-Miller-Kennedy prescription drug bill. It is a carefully crafted bill that provides comprehensive, guaranteed coverage and low out-of-pocket costs. This is a good drug benefit that meets the needs of beneficiaries.

Two years ago, both presidential candidates and numerous House and Senate candidates up for reelection promised a meaningful drug benefit. Recently the House passed a bill that did not live up to those promises. With the 107^th Congress winding down, the Senate can seize the moment and make good on this commitment.

In Washington, there are different approaches to the issue of prescription drugs. Our members want a benefit that is part of Medicare, a program that has worked so well for the last 37 years. They want a bill where everyone pays in and everyone benefits, whether they live in a big city or in a small town.

At the National Committee, we get hundreds of calls from members complaining about the disruption in their life and in their medical care when a private insurer pulls out of the Medicare+Choice program. We don't want to replicate that mistake in adding prescription drug coverage that relies on private insurers. Graham-Miller-Kennedy contains a defined benefit, so seniors know their coverage won't vary from plan to plan and premiums won't vary from region to region. Under Graham-Miller-Kennedy, seniors will not have to worry about a private insurer suddenly withdrawing from the region, leaving them without coverage.

For these reasons, we want to reiterate our strong support for the Graham-Miller-Kennedy prescription drug bill. We are contacting our members by phone and by email and asking them to voice their support for the Graham-Miller-Kennedy bill. We are asking them to let Congress know that they want the Senate to vote for this bill before the August recess.

One in four voters in the next election will be over the age of 65. Many of them will be carefully following the debate in the coming days. They will know if they can count on their elected officials to keep promises made. The outcome of this debate can't help but effect their feelings and votes next November.

For more information on what is happening in Washington, D.C. and facts about the record of your member of Congress, call the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare at 1-800-966-1935.

Back to the Homepage

The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
Suite 600
10 G Street Northeast
Washington, D.C. 20003
Main Number: 202/216-0420
Toll-free 1-800-966-1935
Fax: 202/216-0451
E-mail: general@ncpssm.org