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Bush Unveils Medicare Prescription Drug Proposal

Tue, 09/05/2000 - 11:00pm — Karen Stevenson
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George Bush has announced his proposal to provide expanded prescription drug coverage to seniors. His proposal has two parts. The first, and most immediate, action he proposes is to send $12 billion a year for 4 years to the states to fund new and existing state-based prescription drug plans for low income seniors as an interim step until the national Medicare program can be altered. The second part of the proposal would add prescription drug coverage to the federal Medicare program, with a target of enacting legislation no later than September, 2001. This new plan, MediCARxES (Medicare Choice and Access to Prescription Drugs for Every Senior), would set aside $110 billion for Medicare modernization to offer Medicare recipients a choice of plans offering expanded benefits, including prescription drug coverage.

The MediCARxES would:

  • Cover the full cost of Medicare premiums for seniors with incomes at or below 135% of the federal poverty level ($11,300 for individuals, and $15,200 for a couple)
  • Cover most of the cost of prescription drug coverage for seniors with incomes between 135%-175% of poverty guidelines (up to about $14,600 for an individual, and $19,700 for a couple)
  • Pay 25% of premium costs for prescription drug coverage for all seniors above 175% of the poverty level
  • Cover all Medicare costs in excess of $6,000 annually for all seniors, not just prescription drug costs
  • Guarantee access to a prescription drug benefit even for beneficiaries living in areas where there is no competition among plans
  • Establish a Unified Trust Fund as the measure of Medicare solvency

Until this plan can be implemented, $48 billion of interim funding over 4 years would be directed to the states to:

  • Cover the full cost of a prescription drug program for seniors with incomes at or below 135% of the federal poverty level
  • Cover most of the cost of prescription drugs for seniors with incomes up to 175% of poverty guidelines
  • Cover any prescription drug costs in excess of $6,000 annually for all seniors
  • Create a White House Task Force on bipartisan Medicare modernization
  • Provide expedited consideration of modernization legislation

In other material available on his Web site, Bush said that his proposal compares favorably to the Gore plan because it offers immediate assistance to seniors in 2001, via his proposal to send money to the states in the interim, as compared to the Gore plan which would not be implemented until 2003. Bush points out that his plan protects beneficiaries against catastrophic out-of-pocket costs of all kinds with his $6,000 cap, while Gore's plan caps only prescription drug costs at $4,000.

George Bush has announced his proposal to provide expanded prescription drug coverage to seniors. His proposal has two parts. The first, and most immediate, action he proposes is to send $12 billion a year for 4 years to the states to fund new and existing state-based prescription drug plans for low income seniors as an interim step until the national Medicare program can be altered. The second part of the proposal would add prescription drug coverage to the federal Medicare program, with a target of enacting legislation no later than September, 2001. This new plan, MediCARxES (Medicare Choice and Access to Prescription Drugs for Every Senior), would set aside $110 billion for Medicare modernization to offer Medicare recipients a choice of plans offering expanded benefits, including prescription drug coverage.

The MediCARxES would:

  • Cover the full cost of Medicare premiums for seniors with incomes at or below 135% of the federal poverty level ($11,300 for individuals, and $15,200 for a couple)
  • Cover most of the cost of prescription drug coverage for seniors with incomes between 135%-175% of poverty guidelines (up to about $14,600 for an individual, and $19,700 for a couple)
  • Pay 25% of premium costs for prescription drug coverage for all seniors above 175% of the poverty level
  • Cover all Medicare costs in excess of $6,000 annually for all seniors, not just prescription drug costs
  • Guarantee access to a prescription drug benefit even for beneficiaries living in areas where there is no competition among plans
  • Establish a Unified Trust Fund as the measure of Medicare solvency

Until this plan can be implemented, $48 billion of interim funding over 4 years would be directed to the states to:

  • Cover the full cost of a prescription drug program for seniors with incomes at or below 135% of the federal poverty level
  • Cover most of the cost of prescription drugs for seniors with incomes up to 175% of poverty guidelines
  • Cover any prescription drug costs in excess of $6,000 annually for all seniors
  • Create a White House Task Force on bipartisan Medicare modernization
  • Provide expedited consideration of modernization legislation

In other material available on his Web site, Bush said that his proposal compares favorably to the Gore plan because it offers immediate assistance to seniors in 2001, via his proposal to send money to the states in the interim, as compared to the Gore plan which would not be implemented until 2003. Bush points out that his plan protects beneficiaries against catastrophic out-of-pocket costs of all kinds with his $6,000 cap, while Gore's plan caps only prescription drug costs at $4,000.