Following her meeting with the President, Senator Collins said, "Congress has an unprecedented opportunity to provide a prescription drug benefit for our nation's seniors. Millions of seniors rely on prescriptions drugs every month to keep them healthy and out of the hospital. But increasing costs have made it more and more difficult for them to obtain these necessary medications without cutting back on other life necessities."
Senator Collins explained that it is not uncommon for seniors in Maine to have monthly drug bills of up to $400 per month. "Seniors living on limited incomes have a difficult time making ends meet when their prescription drug costs are so high. These are the individuals we are working to help."
The President called the group of Senators together to thank them for their work on the Medicare legislation being considered by the US Senate this week and encouraged them to continue working together in a bipartisan manner.
The Senate Prescription Drug and Medicare Improvement Act of 2003 does the following:
It establishes a voluntary drug benefit under a new part D of Medicare. The new benefit would be available beginning Jan 1, 2006 and a discount drug card would provide relief to seniors until the program is fully implemented. Details of the drug benefit would be as follows:
o $275 deductible o $35 average monthly premium for non low income beneficiaries o 50 percent beneficiary coinsurance for drug spending of up to $3,450 Beneficiaries would pay 100 percent of drug costs for spending between $3451 in total spending and $3700 in true out of pocket spending o For catastrophic drug costs, above $3700, 100 percent of drugs would be covered. o There will be an interim prescription discount drug card program to begin in 2004. o Additional assistance will be provided to low-income seniors with incomes below 150 percent of the federal poverty level.