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Tough Questions To Ask When The Campaign Comes To Town With the entire House of Representatives, one-third of the Senate, and the White House up for grabs this election season, senior votes will be especially sought after as incumbents try to maintain control of the House and Senate. How do you sort through the claims, excuses, finger-pointing, and promises? Here are some tough questions to ask on the issues: Medicare Prescription Drug Benefits-Who Should Be Covered? What to ask: Do you know how many of your senior constituents are having difficulties with rapidly rising prescription drugs costs, and what do you feel is the best solution to help them? Senior Americans without prescription drug coverage spend almost twice as much for their medicines than insured seniors and forego needed treatments. A report by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) found that seniors without coverage paid about $29 per medicine purchase compared to $12 per purchase for people with coverage. The study also found that Medicare recipients without drug coverage used about 25% fewer prescriptions. Another HCFA study found that beneficiaries without prescription drug coverage who did not purchase a prescription because they could not afford the drug was about five times higher than those who do have coverage. The studies come as Congress and President Clinton debate who should be eligible for a new Medicare prescription drug benefit. Republican Congressional leaders argue that aid should be targeted to the poor and those with very large prescription drug costs. President Clinton and Democrats say that the benefit should be available to all Medicare-eligible individuals. Nationwide over half of beneficiaries without drug coverage have incomes above 150 percent of poverty ($12,500 for an individual, $16,875 for a couple). Thus a prescription drug benefit targeted to low-income individuals only would not help many seniors who need it. TSCL supports adding a voluntary prescription drug plan to Medicare that would be available to all beneficiaries. Sources: "Seniors Without Drug Plans Pay More For Medicines, Studies Show," Bloomberg, March 5, 2000. "America's Seniors And Medicare: Challenges For Today And Tomorrow," The White House, February 29,2000. "Prescription Drug Coverage, Spending, Utilization and Prices," Department of Health and Human Services, April 10, 2000
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