|
||||||||
Budget Priorities Belie Prescription Drug Promises
The high cost of prescription drugs is on your minds and is becoming more critical with every price hike. Recently, one of you observed that while there are pharmacy assistance programs so that no senior should have to choose between their prescription drugs or food, and wealthier seniors can afford to buy prescription drug insurance, it seems that the average senior of modest means is falling through the cracks. This is very true. Many of you have too much money to qualify for state drug or pharmacy assistance programs, but too little for expensive prescription drug insurance. In addition, many employers are dropping retiree prescription drug or health insurance benefits altogether. The number of you without prescription drug coverage is growing, a fact confirmed by our 2002 Advisor Senior Survey. The percentage of respondents who say they have no prescription drug insurance jumped from 36% in 2001 to 48% in 2002. President Bush, the House, and the Senate recently included a Medicare prescription drug benefit in federal budget plans. But as of this writing little progress has been made on legislation. Republicans and Democrats have different views on how to structure the benefit. Although both the Senate and House have established budgets for the program, estimates of the cost vary widely. Complicating matters, the projected federal budget surpluses of just one year ago are gone. The Social Security surplus is helping to keep the government running. A solution is not impossible though. While money to pay for a prescription drug benefit may be slowing Medicare legislation, it has not stopped President Bush and GOP leadership from proposing more tax cuts. And although opposed to new tax cuts, most Democrats have shied away from trying to postpone or block portions of last year's tax cut. Your contact with Members of Congress is the single most important thing you can do to see that prescription drug legislation gets enacted this year. Communicate with your Representative and Senators and let them know how the high cost of drugs affects you. Tell them how much you have to spend on prescription drugs, and what financial resources you have (or don't have) to pay for those drugs. In the days that followed the September 11 attacks, our government proved that it is not permanently paralyzed by chronic gridlock. Congress and the President can and will act when convinced it is in our national interest. Let's convince them to enact a Medicare prescription drug benefit. Sign our online Petition to Congress for Voluntary Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage at http://action.tscl.org/VolMedicarePresDrugCoverage.asp or send a letter to your Members of Congress at http://action.tscl.org/GuidetoContactingCongress.asp. May 2002 | ||||||||
|
|
||||||||
