Corresponding with Congress is an important thing that advocates can do. If your Congress person is in favor of your position, your letters and E-mails help support the position. If they are against, of course, your voice should be heard. Voices in a democracy can make a difference. Below find a response to some recent correspondence regarding the Medicare D issues to Congressman Tom Allen's office. When you correspond, be sure to include your full name, mailing address, and E-mail address if you have one.

From: "Rep. Tom Allen" rep.tomallen@mail.house.gov

April 18, 2006

Mr. Steve Hoad
(mailing address deleted)
Dear Mr. Hoad:

Thank you for expressing your concerns about the new Medicare prescription drug program, which began on January 1, 2006. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

The passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act in 2003 brought major changes to the program, adding a new Part D with drug coverage plus coverage for preventive screenings and tests. The new drug plan is complicated and confusing, and has many seniors and persons with disabilities worried that it provides fewer benefits, and possibly higher out of pocket costs, than before.

I voted against this bill (which passed narrowly, 220 to 215, on November 22, 2003) because I have serious concerns about the structure of the program. The law has led to more than 2,000 private plans in the United States, each covering a different set of drugs, at different prices. There is no guarantee that seniors will actually save money on their drugs if they join one of these plans, after paying the deductible, premium, and cost sharing requirements. The plan was designed to enhance drug and insurance company profits, not to ensure that beneficiaries save money on their drugs.

A study I commissioned from the Democratic staff of the Committee on Government Affairs recently confirmed that seniors and taxpayers are paying much higher prices than if the federal government had been allowed to negotiate prices with drug companies. As the cost of Part D mounts, and beneficiaries plunge into its notorious "doughnut hole" gap in coverage, this flaw will soon overshadow the program's other problems. The study found that the prices charged by the ten leading Medicare Part D insurance plans in southern Maine for the 10 best-selling drugs used by seniors is almost 80 percent higher than the prices the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) negotiates for its purchases; almost 60 percent higher than the prices available to consumers in Canada; and more than five percent higher than the prices available on Drugstore.com, a popular Internet supplier of prescription drugs. For specific drugs, the price differences can exceed or approach 100 percent.

I believe a more simplified drug coverage program, offered by Medicare rather than individual private insurance plans, would be better for Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers. The system that the VA uses now offers better coverage at lower cost to taxpayers and beneficiaries, and serves as a model for how Medicare should offer prescription drug coverage. I have co-authored legislation, H.R. 752, the Medicare Prescription Drug Savings and Choice Act, that will offer beneficiaries the option of adding a secure and affordable drug benefit to their existing Medicare coverage. I signed a discharge petition to bring H.R. 752 to the floor for a vote. I hope Congress will soon take up this important legislation.

I am also concerned about the transition of individuals who are currently receiving both Medicare and Medicaid benefits to the new Medicare Part D program. When the Medicare prescription drug law went into effect on January 1, 2006, 6.4 million "dual eligibles" lost their Medicaid prescription drug coverage. Those who have been randomly assigned to a plan are likely to find that their assigned plan's formulary or pharmacies are appropriate for them. The State of Maine was the first state to offer assistance to help Medicare beneficiaries pay for the prescription drug benefits that they are entitled to. I have introduced legislation to reimburse Maine and other states who have provided such assistance, and eliminate the new law's gaps in prescription drug coverage that have plagued millions of low-income seniors and individuals with disabilities across Maine and America.

Please be assured that I will continue to work with my House and Senate colleagues to improve the Medicare prescription drug plan. Thank you again for contacting me. I hope you will continue to do so on matters that are important to you.

Sincerely,

Tom Allen
Member of Congress