The House recently passed legislation that would provide a Medicare prescription drug benefit. Action now shifts to the Senate. Although most TREA Senior Citizens League members support a Medicare prescription drug benefit, some who already are covered by prescription drug insurance have expressed reservations. You are concerned that if a drug benefit were added, it could cost you an additional deduction from your monthly Social Security benefit. You also worry that you could lose the drug coverage you already have.
TSCL supports a VOLUNTARY Medicare prescription drug benefit. Both the House and Senate prescription drug bills would create a voluntary drug benefit. As of this writing, neither bill would increase your Medicare premium unless you decide to sign up for the coverage. In addition, lower-income seniors would pay no premiums at all, and very low or no co-payments.
By adding a voluntary benefit to Medicare, seniors who already have prescription drug insurance would gain an important safety net in the event an employer did decide to drop retiree prescription drug benefits. The fact is, hundreds of thousands of retired workers who used to have generous health benefits from former employers are digging deeper into their own pockets this year. According to a recent study by the Kaiser Foundation, the percentage of firms offering retiree health benefits is at the lowest level in five years.
“The New York Times” recently reported that many employers have responded to sharp increases in drug costs by cutting back on health care benefits or requiring that retirees pay more. Drugs account for 40% to 60% of employers’ overall spending on Medicare-age retirees’ health care.
A Medicare prescription drug benefit that contains sensible measures to make prescription drugs more affordable is essential both for uninsured seniors and to help ensure that those who already have good coverage will continue to have coverage. But participation in this debate is no longer optional. If a benefit is to be enacted this year, we need to be part of the discussion. Senators really do want to know how the benefit should be designed and how much it should cost. We urge you to contact your Senators and let them know what you support. Sign our online Petition to Congress for Voluntary Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage at http://action.tscl.org/VolMedicarePresDrugCoverage.asp.
“Erosion of Private Health Insurance for Retirees,” Kaiser Family Foundations, April, 2002. “Companies Trim Health Benefits for Many Retirees as Costs Surge,” Milt Freudenheim, “The New York Times,” May 10, 2002.
September 2002
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