THE WHITE HOUSE AT WORK
Thursday, May 25,
2000
PRESIDENT CLINTON:
URGING CONGRESS TO ACT NOW ON A MEDICARE
PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFIT
AND OTHER NATIONAL PRIORITIES
"We have a full-time obligation to deal with the big
opportunities and the big challenges of this country, and Congress should feel
that obligation, even when they go into recess. There is no heavier evidence of
that today than the need to provide voluntary, affordable prescription drug
coverage."
President Bill Clinton
Thursday, May 25, 2000
Today, at the White House, President Clinton met with the Democratic
leadership of the House and Senate to discuss passage of a Medicare
prescription drug benefit, as well as other national priorities including a
strong, enforceable Patients' Bill of Rights, common-sense gun safety
legislation, and an increase in the minimum wage. The President emphasized that
now is the time – while the nation is in the midst of unprecedented
prosperity and the longest economic expansion in history – to strengthen
and modernize Medicare with a prescription drug benefit that is voluntary,
affordable, and available to all beneficiaries. He reiterated that the
Democratic party is united in its strategy to provide this benefit, and
outlined why the Republican plan falls short. The President urged Congress to
act on this and other national priorities this year.
Addressing the Need for Prescription Drug Coverage. The
following statistics support the urgent need for a Medicare prescription drug
benefit:
- Approximately 3 out of 5 Medicare beneficiaries lack decent,
dependable prescription drug coverage. Millions of seniors and Americans
with disabilities have no prescription drug coverage, and millions more are at
risk of losing coverage or have inadequate, expensive coverage;
- Current prescription drug coverage is unstable and
declining – the proportion of firms offering such coverage has dropped
25% in the last 4 years;
- Most older Americans without prescription drug coverage are
middle-income.
Democrats are Unified on Benefit Plan. The Democratic Caucus
is united in its support for a new prescription drug benefit that is:
- Voluntary and accessible to all beneficiaries;
- Designed to give beneficiaries meaningful protection;
- Affordable to all beneficiaries and the program; and
- Administered using private-sector entities and competitive
purchasing techniques.
Republican Plan Falls Short of Their Stated Goals. Although
the House Republican leadership recently recognized the need for an affordable,
optional prescription drug benefit available to all Medicare beneficiaries,
their current proposal does not achieve this goal because it:
- Does not assure availability of prescription drug
coverage. Because the Republican plan relies on private insurers to offer
the benefit voluntarily, it cannot be guaranteed to be available to all
seniors. In testimony before Congress, the insurance industry itself expressed
skepticism about the effectiveness of the Republican approach.
- Is not affordable for most seniors, even if it is
available. Because it provides direct premium assistance only to
beneficiaries with annual incomes under $12,600, the Republican benefit will
almost certainly fail to be affordable even if it is available. If enacted, the
Republican proposal would mark the first time in the program's history that
Medicare would not provide universal premium assistance for benefits.
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