Medicare drug plan confuses, needs reform
| Saturday, Feb 18 2006 09:20 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Mar 28 2009 11:01 AM
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As the principal caregiver for my 90-year old mother, I have firsthand knowledge of the challenges facing seniors in attempting to enroll in the new Medicare prescription drug program.
The program's basic provisions are complex and difficult to understand. Online enrollment remains a daunting task for many seniors, keeping enrollment low and confusing the very people this program was created to serve.
And now, it is clear this program will inflict financial hardship on many states, including California. Earlier this month, California announced that it was preparing to sue the federal government on the grounds that the Medicare prescription drug program was supposed to save the state millions of dollars. Instead, according to Attorney General Bill Lockyer, the program could cost California over $750 million in the next three years. The state's lawsuit will contend the plan has already forced the state to spend $150 million it had not anticipated to support the program. Three other states Kentucky, Mississippi and Texas appear ready to join California in suing the federal government.
Congress needs to step forward and exert some leadership to resolve the crisis which surrounds the new Medicare drug program. Although I was not a member of Congress at the time this bill was passed, I have spent my 24 years of prior service in the state Assembly and Senate working to solve problems for the people of the valley. While my experience as a legislator gives me insight into what constitutes a good law, common sense tells all of us that when something is not working, you step in and fix it.
In my view, the current prescription drug law needs several improvements if it is to serve our seniors the way in which it was intended.
* The law must be rewritten to ensure that enrollment in the program is obtainable by every senior who qualifies, not just those who are computer literate. Currently, an estimated 70 percent of Americans over 65 do not use computers. In hopes of resolving this aspect of the new law, I have co-sponsored H.R. 3940, authored by Congressman Tom Price, R-Ga., which would extend the enrollment period from six to 19 months.
* Provisions must be inserted in the law to allow the federal government to use its negotiating power to bring down the cost of prescription drugs. We must take full advantage of any savings and pass them along to seniors and the disabled.
We also must address the total cost of the program. When the legislation was introduced, the Congressional Budget Office stated that the cost to U.S. taxpayers would be $395 billion over the next 10 years. However, two months after Congress approved the new benefit, White House Budget Director Joshua Bolten disclosed that he expected the program to cost $534 billion. In addition, in an article published last November in The Washington Post, the cost estimates ranged as high as $724 billion over the next 10 years.
* Congress needs to make sure that the Medicare prescription drug law, in its revised form, does not levy a financial hardship on California or the other 49 states. In order to ease the financial burden on states, I am an original co-sponsor of H.R. 4675, sponsored by Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., which would ensure the prompt and complete reimbursement of states for the costs they incurred fulfilling the new Medicare Drug Plan.
These necessary changes in the Medicare prescription drug law can only come about through a bipartisan effort in both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
Our obligation as federal lawmakers and representatives of the people of our valley requires that we set aside political differences and truly work together to revise the Medicare drug law so that it benefits seniors, as it was intended to do.
Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, represents the 20th Congressional District which consists of parts of Fresno and Kern counties and all of Kings County.
