A prescription drug benefit should be made available to all Medicare beneficiaries. Seniors should not pay top-dollar for prescription drugs. Medicare beneficiaries would have access to subsidized prescription coverage offered by private insurers. And according to a study by a leading actuarial firm, private insurers negotiate 30 to 39 percent discounts from drug manufacturers. Like Medicare Part B, a prescription drug benefit must be voluntary.
Beneficiaries can maintain their current coverage or participate in a new prescription drug benefit.
Legislation that does not offer protection from high cost is simply flawed. Thus, no senior will lose all they have because of prescription drug cost. Defenders of the status quo attempt to keep the current system in place by simply adding money to the program - with more regulations and ad hoc bailouts from tax revenues. I believe, instead, that it's Congress' role to make the Medicare system more efficient and more responsive to beneficiaries' needs. Seniors have waited too long for a prescription drug benefit.