The Do-Nothing Congress Daily Register: GOP Ignores Medicare Donut Hole
The Republican-led Congress is set to go home in six days, leaving a number of important legislative priorities undone and a host of issues unresolved. After twelve years of Republican Congressional rule, the GOP puts politics ahead of what's good for America and are ineffective at dealing with the problems that American families face. It is no wonder that Americans are fed up with Republican leadership in Congress and now favor Democratic control. The latest CBS News/New York Times poll found that two-thirds of Americans "said Congress had accomplished less than it typically does in a two-year session; and most said they could not name a single major piece of legislation that cleared this Congress. Just 25 percent said they approved of the way Congress was doing its job." [New York Times, 9/21/06]
The Democratic National Committee will highlight these legislative failures every day until Congress recesses.
The GOP's prescription drug plan was written by the pharmaceutical industry and banned the government from negotiating drug prices for seniors. The legislation also created a "donut hole", which takes effect this week, whereby seniors facing certain drug costs would lose coverage altogether. The issue first gained attention two years ago, but the Republican "do-nothing" Congress has refused to remedy this serious problem.
GOP Has Ignored Donut Hole
Donut Hole Will Leave 7 Million Americans Without Coverage. "A report released by the Campaign for America's Future last July revealed that nearly 7 million beneficiaries with annual drug costs between $2,250 and $5,100 will fall into the 'donut hole' this week," which means that they will be forced to pay the entire cost of their drug coverage between when it falls between those two amounts. CBS News reports that, "it's this gap -- of almost $3,000 -- that many sick and disabled seniors call unaffordable." "'We feel there is something very wrong with the way Medicare Part D is written,' says David Madison, who's taking one very expensive cancer drug. He says he reached the 'doughnut hole' in a month. The total cost of his care, he told us, plus the coverage gap is wiping him out. 'It could eventually lead to bankruptcy,' he says. 'It is catastrophic.'" [Campaign For America's Future, 9/20/06; CBS News, 7/26/06]
New Democratic Report: 88 Percent Of Americans In Medicare Drug Plan Will Face Donut Hole; Average Cost To Switch Plans Nearly $500. "Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee were issuing a report Thursday estimating that 88 percent of the Medicare beneficiaries with stand-alone coverage opted for plans with a coverage gap. ... The analysis includes a breakdown by state showing how much more money residents would have to pay annually if they switched to a plan that had no doughnut hole. The nationwide average was $458. ... 'As this report shows, the opportunity to purchase plans that fill the hole is a mirage,' said Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif. 'Beneficiaries are no more able to afford expensive, full-coverage plans than minimum wage Americans are able to afford a Mercedes.'" [AP, 9/21/06]
