FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, CONTACT: (202) 225-1721
June 6, 2000
FC-22
Congressman Bill Archer (R-TX), Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Committee will hold a hearing on legislation to cover prescription drugs under Medicare. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, June 13, 2000, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include Members of Congress, as well as other parties pertinent to the development of legislative proposals. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
Although Medicare currently offers a range of health care benefits, it differs significantly from other Federal health care programs and private sector health insurance in that it does not generally offer its enrollees coverage for outpatient prescription drugs. This is significant given that, on average, seniors currently spend in excess of $600 annually on prescription drugs. However, in the absence of Medicare prescription drug coverage, beneficiaries have come to rely upon several other sources of prescription drug benefits, such as employer-sponsored retiree health insurance, Medicaid or other State-sponsored health programs, and managed care plans offered through the Medicare+Choice program. In total, recent data indicates that approximately two-thirds of beneficiaries have coverage through these alternate sources, thus leaving more than 10 million beneficiaries without coverage.
Last year, the Clinton Administration introduced a proposal in his budget to provide a prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries. The proposal would require seniors to pay a monthly premium to receive the benefit, where the beneficiary would split prescription drug costs with the Federal Government up to a certain amount. The proposal did not address prescription drug costs higher than the benefit cap.
Earlier this year, the concurrent resolution in the budget set aside $40 billion over the next five years to address Medicare prescription drug coverage. House Republicans have unveiled their blueprint to expand prescription drug access through the creation of a public-private partnership that subsidizes all Medicare beneficiaries, provides more choices for beneficiaries to get coverage, and protects beneficiaries from the full amount of extraordinary catastrophic drug costs. Congressional Democrats and President Clinton have announced principles that largely mirror the Administration's earlier prescription drug proposal, which was the subject of a Subcommittee on Health hearing in May (see Health press release, HL-14, dated May 4, 2000). In addition, the Administration's proposal was modified by including a catastrophic drug benefit after beneficiary drug costs surpasses a certain amount.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Archer stated: "We are committed to strengthening Medicare and adding a prescription drug benefit under Medicare this year. This hearing will give the Committee an opportunity to explore in greater detail the various plans being discussed, especially the House Republican plan. I look forward to working in a bipartisan fashion toward passing a bill in the House of Representatives that can be signed into law by the President -- America's seniors and the disabled deserve action on this critical item this year."
Health Subcommittee Chairman Thomas stated: "We have crafted a plan to lower drug prices for seniors who currently have no coverage by helping them purchase insurance under Medicare. I am pleased that the President has offered a plan that rejects price controls and that Congressional Democrats have offered a plan that rejects price controls and includes immediate protections from catastrophic drug costs. We stand ready to work with Members on both sides of the aisle and in both Houses of Congress to make a prescription drug benefit under Medicare a reality, and this hearing will move us one step closer toward moving legislation that will do that this year."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The hearing will examine legislation proposed in recent months to improve access to prescription drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries and the related effects on the financial outlook of the Medicare program.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Wednesday, June 14, 2000, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Committee office, room 1102 Longworth House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.