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**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Liz Lubow**

**July 14, 2003 Amy Hagovsky**

**202-228-1122**

**[http://mikulski.senate.gov]{.underline}**

[]{.mark}**MIKULSKI DISCUSSES SENATE PRESCRIPTION DRUG PROPOSAL WITH
SENIORS AT OAK CREST VILLAGE IN BALTIMORE**

*"This legislation is a beginning. It is something we can build on."*

Washington, D.C. -- **Senator Barbara A. Mikulski** (D-MD) today met
with seniors at Oak Crest Village in Baltimore to discuss the Senate's
Medicare prescription drug proposal. The Senate passed the bipartisan
"Prescription Drug and Medicare Improvement Act of 2003 (S. 1) in a
76-21 vote last month. Senator Mikulski voted in favor of the
legislation.

"This legislation is a beginning," said Senator Mikulski. "It is
something we can build on. I will keep fighting for a prescription drug
benefit that is voluntary, accessible, affordable, and meaningful."

A House-Senate Conference Committee will now take up the legislation to
work out the differences. When the bill is reconciled, it will be sent
back to the House and Senate for a final vote. A date has not yet been
set for a final vote.

*The following is a portion of Senator Mikulski's statement prior to the
Senate vote on this legislation:*

"Senior citizens are facing a crisis -- a crisis in affording health
care and a crisis in affording prescription drugs.

"I've been in communities all over Maryland, listening to seniors who
are desperate. Listening to their families in the diners who want to
help their parents, yet face stresses of their own. Listening to the
employers in the boardrooms who want to help their retirees, but can no
longer afford to.

"Here's what they tell me. They say we need a prescription drug benefit
in Medicare. We need a safety net for seniors and families. Congress
must enact a Medicare prescription drug benefit and they must do it now.
I absolutely agree. It's time Congress made Medicare prescription drug
coverage a national priority.

**- more -**

"Here are my principles. These principles are the yardstick by which I
measure any proposal.

1.  **The benefit must be for seniors** -- not for insurance companies.
    That means -- the cornerstone must be Medicare. This bill does that.
    It does not force seniors to give up the Medicare they love to get
    the drugs they need.

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2.  **It must help the majority of Marylanders.** I work for
    Marylanders. So I did the numbers. 570,000 Marylanders are on
    Medicare. According to Johns Hopkins, 68% of these seniors would
    benefit from this legislation. That means 394,000 would benefit from
    this bill.

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3.  **It must be voluntary.** And the answer is yes -- this bill is
    voluntary. No one should be coerced or forced into a private program
    or forced to give up coverage they currently have.

    4 **It must be affordable.** I'm not so sure. I'm concerned about
    the significant deductible -- \$275 dollars a year and the hefty
    premiums -- almost \$400 dollars a year. It also has a coverage gap.
    Once you spend \$4,500 a year -- you get no help until you spend
    \$5,800. This will cost too much. That's why I supported the Durbin
    amendment -- which would have provided a better benefit at less cost
    to seniors.

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5.  **It must be accessible.** It must be available to all seniors,
    regardless of where they live. This bill does that.

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6.  **It must be Meaningful.** It must cover the kind of drugs your
    doctor says you need -- not what an insurance executive thinks you
    should get. This bill does that by creating a medical necessity
    override. This means -- your doctor has the final say on which drugs
    you get -- not an insurance company. I feel pretty good about that.

"This legislation is a beginning. It is something we can build on. What
it comes down to for me is -- will it help the majority of seniors in
Maryland? The answer is yes -- it will help over 394,000 people. For
people who spend at least \$1,110 a year on prescription drugs -- it
will help. For someone who is facing a catastrophic disease like cancer
and has very high drug costs -- it will help. So I will vote for this
bill. It's not the bill I want. Yet we can't let the perfect be the
enemy of the good. We can't do nothing -- as seniors struggle to pay for
the drugs they need.

"But let me be very clear -- this is as far as I will go. If this bill
comes back from Conference and it's a benefit for insurance companies,
say goodbye to my vote. If it increases costs for seniors, say goodbye
to my vote. If it cuts benefits, say goodbye to my vote.

"So I will vote for this legislation tonight because I don't want to say
goodbye to this opportunity to provide a Medicare prescription drug
benefit for seniors."

For more information on this legislation, please contact Senator
Mikulski's press office at 202-228-1122.

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