|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Medicare Conflicts Continue to Arise Between Bush
and Congress
Senate pushing drug plan actions opposed by
Administration
March 16, 2006 – The Senate yesterday authorized
President Bush to extend the deadline for enrollment in the Medicare
drug program, a move Bush says he opposes. The Senate also passed an
amendment to allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices,
another action opposed by the Administration. KaiserNet.org also reports
doctors and pharmacist are concerned about Medicare beneficiaries
getting the drugs they need as the "transition period" ends that
required plans to provide the drugs seniors were taking before the drug
program.
Medicare -
Senate Approves Amendment That Would Allow HHS Secretary Authority to
Move Medicare Drug Benefit Enrollment Deadline; President Bush Rejects
Idea
 The Senate on Wednesday voted 76-22 to approve an
amendment to the fiscal year 2007 budget resolution that would authorize
HHS
Secretary Mike Leavitt to extend the May 15 deadline for enrolling in
the Medicare prescription drug benefit, CQ Today reports.
| |
Related Stories |
|
| |
Officials Confirm Medicare Will Have Fewer Drug
Plans in 2007
CMS Administrator opposes extending May 15
enrollment deadline
March 8, 2006 – Earlier reports that the Medicare
Drug Program will include fewer plans next year was confirmed yesterday
by Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, who told insurance
executives that market forces have helped lower drug prices and will
enable a reduction in the number of plans next year. KaiserNet.org also
reports that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator
Mark McClellan says he is opposed to extending the May 15 deadline for
enrollment in Medicare Part D.
Read
more...
Read more
on
Medicare Drug Program |
|
The amendment, which was offered by
Senate Finance
Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), would give Leavitt
the authority to extend the deadline but would not require him to do so.
The Grassley amendment also would allow
beneficiaries to switch plans once during 2006 without penalty.
The Senate on Wednesday also voted 49-49 to reject
an amendment by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) that would have mandated an
extension of the deadline to Dec. 31 and allowed beneficiaries to change
plans once without penalty during 2006 (Angle, CQ Today, 3/15).
Grassley said, "Personally, I think that it's
premature to change the date. So I offer this amendment as a compromise"
(Riechmann,
AP/San Francisco
Chronicle, 3/15). Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) --
whose switch to a "no" vote led to the tie on the Nelson amendment --
said, "I really am concerned about this deadline, but I think the
Grassley amendment covered it." Five Republicans -- Sens. Olympia Snowe
(R-Maine), Lincoln Chaffe (R-R.I.), Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Arlen
Specter (R-Penn.) -- voted for the Nelson amendment (CQ Today, 3/15).
Bush Comments About Deadline
In a speech a few hours before the Senate vote, President Bush said he
does not support extension of the deadline (Bloomberg/Boston
Globe, 3/16). Speaking at an event in Silver Spring, Md., to
promote the drug benefit, Bush said, "There's got to be a fixed time for
people to sign up." He added, "We want people to realize there is -- now
is the time. ... Rolling back deadlines is not going to help" (Havemann/Wallsten,
Los Angeles Times,
3/16).
He said the drug benefit "can be confusing to
people, but if you work through the options ... in the end it is a
really good deal" (AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 3/15).
Price Negotiations
In other Senate action related to Medicare, the chamber voted 54-44 in a
roll call vote to approve a budget amendment, sponsored by Snowe and
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), that would authorize the HHS Secretary to
negotiate prescription drug prices, the Los Angeles Times reports (Los
Angeles Times, 3/16).
The amendment would require any savings negotiated
by the government to go toward improving the drug benefit or reducing
the federal budget deficit (CQ Today, 3/15). Wyden's office said
inclusion of the amendment in the budget resolution would make it easier
to pass legislation in the future to require Medicare to negotiate drug
prices.
Fifty-one votes are necessary to approve such
legislation if the amendment is included in the final version of the
budget resolution, and 60 votes are needed if it does not make it into
the final version, the Times reports.
The amendment provides guidance for future
legislation rather than carrying the force of law, according to the
Times (Los Angeles Times, 3/16). The amendment first must "survive a
conference with the House, which has opposed such proposals," CQ Today
reports (CQ Today, 3/15).
Transition Period Ending
In related news, the 90-day period under which Medicare drug plans are
required to provide beneficiaries with medications they were taking
prior to the drug benefit will end on April 1, and the deadline is
prompting concerns from physicians, pharmacists and state officials that
beneficiaries will "face more coverage disruptions,"
USA Today
reports.
After the transition period ends, drug plans are no
longer required to provide coverage for drugs that are not on their
formularies.
In addition, "most of the ... states that stepped
in on an emergency basis to help low-income beneficiaries also will stop
paying" on April 1, USA Today reports.
Some beneficiaries "could have to change drugs,
file appeals or pay out of pocket" once the transition period ends,
according to USA Today.
CMS
spokesperson Peter Ashkenaz said drug plans need to educate
beneficiaries about the upcoming change. "We have a short time to be
working with the plans to make sure the beneficiaries get the
information," Ashkenaz said, adding, "Some plans are already doing it."
However, "dozens of state health insurance counselors" said in a
conference call on Wednesday that they are unaware of any efforts by
drug plans to education beneficiaries about the upcoming change (Wolf/Benedetto,
USA Today, 3/16).
"Reprinted with
permission from kaisernetwork.org You can view the entire
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, and sign up
for email delivery at
www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser
Daily Health Policy Report is published for
kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family
Foundation. © 2006 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation.
All rights reserved.”
Click here to Search SeniorJournal.com for more on
this subject
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
