Health & Human Services Says Seniors Will Be Better Off MAGICMEDIA NEWS (Nov. 18, 2003) - More than 800,000 seniors and people with disabilities in Wisconsin will be eligible for more choices and better benefits – including prescription drug coverage – under bipartisan Medicare legislation on the verge of being passed by the United States Congress. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said the historic legislation, endorsed by AARP and the American Medical Association, represents the first major improvement to the Medicare system since it was created in 1965 and will help provide affordable prescription drug coverage for seniors. Additionally, seniors will have greater access to preventive care, such as cancer screenings, and new assistance for rural areas. “For the first time in Medicare’s history, a prescription drug benefit will be offered to all 806,366 seniors and Americans with disabilities in Wisconsin to help them afford the cost of their medicines,” Secretary Thompson said. “This legislation means Medicare beneficiaries will be cutting their prescription drug bills in half – instead of their pills.” Seniors without prescription drug coverage will be able to join a Medicare-approved plan that would cut their yearly drug costs roughly in half, in exchange for a $35 monthly premium. In many cases, the savings will be even greater. For example, seniors with no drug coverage and monthly drug costs of $800 will save nearly $5,900 on drug costs each year. Because the prescription drug benefit will need time to be implemented, it will take full effect in 2006. Beginning next year, however, seniors in Wisconsin will save 10 to 25 percent off the cost of most medicines through a Medicare-approved drug discount card to be used at their local pharmacy. The card will provide savings until the full drug benefit goes into effect. Additionally, low-income seniors will receive more help paying for medicine, including a $600 annual subsidy to be added to their drug discount card. Under the legislation, seniors will have more choices in health care, including the same kinds of choices that members of Congress and other federal employees already enjoy. Seniors will be able to choose the health care plan that best fits their needs, instead of having the decision made by the government. That includes the choice to stay in traditional Medicare and still get prescription drug coverage or a new Medicare-approved private plan. If this legislation passes, a modernized Medicare will include better coverage for preventive care highlighted by a “Welcome to Medicare” physical that includes screening for cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, as well as immunizations against pneumonia and the flu. A modernized Medicare also will improve health care for seniors living in rural America, by making the amount of money rural hospitals receive for providing inpatient care more in line with what urban hospitals receive. It also will provide additional funding to those hospitals that provide care to a high number of low-income and uninsured patients, and it would improve payments to doctors and hospitals allowing more of them to provide health care with lower out-of-pocket cost to seniors. In addition, the new Medicare bill will increase payments to home health agencies, help improve our nation’s telemedicine infrastructure, and increase payments to ambulance services that respond to emergencies in rural areas. By improving the overall payment structure of Medicare, we ensure that seniors in every corner of the nation are able to get the medical treatment they need. “This is truly an historic opportunity to finally deliver modern medicine in a modern way,” Secretary Thompson said. “It is time for Congress to finish the job and pass this legislation so that seniors can get the help they need and the choices and benefits they deserve.”