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PRESIDENT CLINTON AND THE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP HIGHLIGHT NEWSTUDY DOCUMENTING PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICE INCREASES THAT DOUBLE
INFLATION RATES
Families USA Report Validates the Need for a Medicare
Prescription Drug Benefit
April 26, 2000
President Clinton today, along with Senator Tom Daschle and House
Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt, will join Families USA in releasing a
new report on prescription drugs. The report shows that, on average,
the price for the 50 drugs most commonly used by seniors increased at
nearly twice the rate of inflation during 1999. The President will
point out that this finding, combined with the recent HHS report showing
that the price differential for older and disabled Americans with and
without coverage has nearly doubled, underscores the need for a
voluntary Medicare prescription drug benefit. While praising the House
Republican leadership for endorsing the principle of the need for an
affordable, optional prescription drug benefit available to all Medicare
beneficiaries, the President will note that the policy advocated by the
House Republicans does not achieve their stated goals. He will challenge
the Republicans to move swiftly to amend their proposal to assure that
all Medicare beneficiaries have access to an affordable prescription
drug benefit option.
NEW ANALYSIS INDICATES THAT PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES WILL CONTINUE TO
RISE. While senior citizens generally live on fixed incomes that are
adjusted to keep up with the rate of inflation, a new report by Families
USA entitled Still Rising demonstrates that prescription drug costs have
risen at double that rate over the past six years -- and are expected to
continue to rise. Key findings of the Families USA report include:
In 1999, the prices of the prescription drugs most commonly used by
seniors increased at almost double the rate of inflation. The report
found that prices of the 50 prescription drugs most frequently used
by the elderly rose by nearly two times the rate of inflation during
calendar year 1999. On average, the prices of these drugs reportedly
increased by 3.9 percent from January 1999 to January 2000 (versus
2.2 percent for general inflation).
Moreover, these increases are part of a trend: Over the past six
years, the prices of the prescription drugs most commonly used by
seniors also increased by twice the rate of inflation. The report
finds that the price of the 50 prescription drugs most commonly used
by older Americans increased by 30.5 percent since 1994 -- twice the
rate of inflation. More than half of the most commonly used drugs
that were on the market for the entire six year period had price
increases that were double the rate of inflation. In addition, the
Families USA report concludes that more than 20 percent of these
prescription drugs increased in price by three times the rate of
inflation over that time period.
Seniors with common chronic illnesses are often forced to spend well
over 10 percent of their income on prescription drugs. The new
Families USA study demonstrates that a widow with diabetes,
hypertension, and high cholesterol, living on an annual income of
$12,525 (150 percent of the poverty level) will spend 18.3 percent of
her annual income on prescription medications. The same woman with
an annual income of $16,700 (200 percent of the poverty level) will
spend 13.7 percent of her income on these medications. This finding,
which is consistent with the conclusions of studies conducted by HHS,
clearly demonstrates that failure to provide a voluntary, affordable,
and accessible Medicare prescription drug benefit will impose a
continuing and growing burden on middle-class older Americans and
people with disabilities.
PRESIDENT CLINTON CHALLENGES THE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP TO MODIFY THEIR
POLICY TO MATCH THEIR STATED GOALS. While praising the House Republican
leadership for recognizing the need for an affordable, optional
prescription drug benefit available to all Medicare beneficiaries, the
President will note that the policy advocated by the House Republicans
does not achieve their stated goals. Their current approach is
underfunded, unlikely to be available to all beneficiaries, and would
almost inevitably be unaffordable to millions of seniors and people with
disabilities, even if it is available in some places. In addition,
because of its lack of details, it raises more questions than it
answers, including how much the premiums are, what the benefit would be,
and how much it will cost. The President will challenge the Republicans
to move swiftly to amend their proposal to assure that all Medicare
beneficiaries have access to an affordable prescription drug benefit
option. The House Republican proposal:
Reneges on funding commitments for a meaningful prescription drug
benefit. Earlier this year, the Republicans indicated they would
commit $40 billion for a prescription drug benefit, but their budget
resolution dedicated as little as $20 billion to improve the Medicare
program to include a prescription drug benefit. Moreover, the lack
of their willingness to release 10-year numbers on their prescription
drug proposal raises serious concerns that their tax policy consumes
virtually all revenue necessary to adequately fund a drug benefit
into the future.
Does not assure availability of prescription drug coverage. Because
the Republican plan relies on private insurers to offer a drug-only
benefit voluntarily, this policy cannot be guaranteed to be available
to all seniors in need of a drug benefit. In testimony before the
Congress, the insurance industry itself has expressed skepticism
about the effectiveness of the Republican approach.
Not affordable for most seniors, even if it is available.
Furthermore, because it provides direct premium assistance only to
beneficiaries with annual incomes of under $12,600, the Republican
benefit will almost certainly fail to be an affordable option even if
it's available. If enacted, the Republican proposal would mark the
first time in the program's history that Medicare would not provide
universal premium assistance for benefits, and it would undermine the
social insurance concept of the program. Finally, because of the
proposals reliance on the Medigap insurance market, which frequently
does not negotiate lower prices on behalf of its enrollees, it casts
doubt on whether beneficiaries would have access to market-leveraged
discounts.