Pass Prescription Drug Coverage Now

Senior citizens must have access to affordable prescription-drug medication. Every single member of the House and Senate agrees with me. So does President Bush.

So it would seem logical for Congress to act quickly to provide this coverage, and for the Senate to find a way to craft a bill that may not satisfy everyone, but would at least garner majority support so the President can sign a bill into law.

In fact, there is a good prescription-drug bill that likely could win the approval of a majority of Senators. That legislation is not only bipartisan, but tri-partisan, sponsored by a Republican (Charles Grassley of Iowa), a Democrat (John Breaux of Louisiana), and an Independent (James Jeffords of Vermont). No bill is perfect, of course, but this legislation would ensure that seniors could obtain prescription drugs as a benefit under Medicare.

This legislation would give seniors the option of participating in the program or remaining in the traditional Medicare system. It would offer affordable coverage to all Medicare beneficiaries -- saving enrollees up to 60 percent of prescription-drug costs after they pay a low monthly fee of $24. The bill provides targeted help to those in greatest need, including seniors with unusually high drug bills.

The measure would not only guarantee that seniors receive every single benefit already promised by Medicare, but also strengthens the overall Medicare program. It includes catastrophic coverage for seniors, imposing a cap on out-of-pocket health-care costs. And, as importantly, it does not further jeopardize Medicare’s financial solvency or risk an unnecessary ballooning of our federal deficit. The tri-partisan plan is not a cure-all, but it is a good start in helping senior citizens and strengthening Medicare for the 21st century.

Unfortunately, the prospects for passing this bill are bleak. Some politicians apparently would rather have a political issue than a law, even openly suggesting in the media that lack of prescription drug coverage could be wielded as a weapon in the November elections.

The way the current debate over prescription-drug coverage is unfolding in the Senate certainly bolsters that belief. The Senate Majority Leader has established a procedure for consideration of the issue that appears deliberately designed to prevent any legislation from passing – particularly the tri-partisan approach that has the strongest level of support.

How is this happening? Rather than follow normal procedures that would have allowed the Senate Finance Committee to consider and pass a prescription-drug bill that could then be brought to the floor of the Senate, the majority leadership decided instead to offer its own bill on the floor, denying the committee an opportunity to “mark up” a bill, and send it to the Senate floor for consideration. Without traditional committee approval, any prescription-drug legislation debated on the floor is now subject to a rule requiring 60 votes – rather than a simple majority – to pass. This makes it virtually impossible to approve any legislation.

In fact, if the Finance Committee had been given a chance to vote on prescription-drug legislation, the tri-partisan bill likely would have passed. Though the legislation still appears to have at least 50 supporters, it has not yet reached the threshold of 60 now imposed on us by Senate rules.

Even Senators who prefer other prescription-drug legislation certainly realize that the tri-partisan bill has the most realistic chance of passage, and is therefore the best vehicle for action this year. Since it is in many respects similar to legislation that has already passed the House of Representatives, this plan could be signed into law very quickly.

But this can only happen if the Senate leadership cooperates. I am still hopeful that they will reconsider their approach so we can move forward on this very important issue, and give every plan fair and full consideration by the Senate. Our seniors should not have to wait until next year for help from their elected officials.

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