Medicare-Run Rx Drug Plan Proposed

Oct. 23, 2007 -- Seniors would have the option of a Medicare-run prescription drug plan under a bill introduced Tuesday by Democrats in Congress.

The bill sets up a new version of the prescription drug program -- known as Part D -- that would be run by the government, along with the private insurance companies carrying the program. Seniors would have the option of sticking with a private plan or using the one run by the government.

Backers of the bill say it will cut down on confusion on the part of seniors perplexed by the dozens of private Part D choices in each state.

"It’s actually quite simple, our seniors understand it, and it’s nationwide," says Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark. "You get the same care in California as you get in Arkansas," says Berry, who is also a pharmacist.

Democrats have criticized Part D ever since it passed the Republican-led Congress in 2003. They have called for a repeal to the part of the law that prohibits Medicare from negotiating directly with pharmaceutical manufacturers for lower drug prices.

Tuesday’s bill would allow those negotiations and would also mandate that Medicare lower its administrative costs.

Rep. Jan Schakowski, D-Ill., another of the bill’s sponsors, says seniors are about to be "deluged" with insurance company promotions when Part D’s 2008 enrollment period begins Nov. 15.

"There will be 194 different private Part D plans" in Illinois, Schakowski says.

Several consumer groups and unions lent their support to the bill.

"We do recognize the need for a simple, programmatic solution," says Robert Hayes, director of the Medicare Rights Center, a beneficiary advocacy group.

Congress is considering Medicare legislation, and Democrats may try to alter the Part D plan as part of the package. It is unlikely, however, that President Bush would sign such legislation.

Rep. Phil English, R-Pa., a member of the health subcommittee controlling Medicare, says the Democrats’ plan won’t work.

"It reduces no confusion at all because the other [private] process still goes forward," English tells WebMD.

English says Democrats are trying to find ways to add a "big government" solution to Medicare Part D.