Published December 2003 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd Prescription for Medicare Trouble
Recently, Congress approved legislation creating a limited Medicare prescription drug benefit. I have long supported the concept of comprehensive Medicare drug coverage, but I could not support this legislation because of its price; the Republican Medicare bill would take the first step toward undermining the Medicare system that has benefited millions of retirees. Specifically, the GOP plan forces Medicare beneficiaries to rely on a private, untried, drug-only insurance market for prescription drug coverage, rather than building on the traditional, successful Medicare program. This flawed legislation covers less than a quarter of Medicare beneficiaries' estimated drug costs during the next I 0 years, and the complicated coverage formula has a large, gaping hole, that will leave seniors without a dollar of support right when they need that support the most. This legislation includes copayments, premiums, and deductibles that may be unaffordable for many low- and middle-income elderly citizens. A closer look at the fine print of this legislation reveals that private insurers can choose to charge senior citizens double or even triple these amounts. Premiums can fluctuate dramatically based upon the location and the health of a beneficiary. At the same time, the federal government will hand over billions of taxpayer dollars to for-profit insurance companies just to entice them to participate in the program. Further, this legislation explicitly prohibits Medicare from using the purchasing power of more than 40 million beneficiaries to negotiate for lower prices on prescription drugs -- a cost-savings practice regularly used by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, and several states including West Virginia. Under the Republican Medicare plan, Mountain State seniors will not receive the real, guaranteed benefit that they desperately need. Despite this legislation's big promises, too many elderly citizens will still be forced to split pills to make medicines last longer. Too many seniors will still go to bed at night struggling with the decision whether to take their limited incomes and pay for food and shelter or pay for the medicines that their doctors have prescribed. This new Medicare package sells out senior citizens in exchange for big profits for prescription drug companies. Senior citizens and disabled citizens deserve more than a new scheme that leaves them naked to the whims of private insurance companies, and offers only a now-you-see-it, now-you don't promise of coverage. Instead of selling illusions, Congress ought to work on a responsible, comprehensive, voluntary Medicare prescription drug benefit. Our seniors deserve no less. December 3, 2003