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DeWine's Medicare position leaves more than 400,000 Ohioans without coverage
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Dewine Medicare Rx `Fix' Leaves More Than 400,000 Ohioans Without Coverage
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Brown calls for unlocking of Part D enrollment
AMHERST--Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-Lorain County) today called for the immediate reopening of Medicare Part D enrollment for seniors, a critical step not addressed by the GOP proposal to waive the late penalty.
"We shouldn't solve half the problem, we should solve all of it," Brown said. "The insurance industry doesn't want to extend the enrollment deadline, so Republicans won't extend it. Why are insurers calling the shots?"
Unless the law is changed, most seniors will have to wait until November 15 to enroll in the drug benefit, and will not receive coverage until next January. Seniors who sign up in November will be subject to late penalties that permanently increases premiums by 7%.
Seniors attempting to sign up for the program have encountered a dizzying array of private insurance plans. Many have reported spending hours on hold with help lines, only to receive inaccurate information after getting through.
"Medicare Part D was created by the drug and insurance companies and for the drug and insurance companies, with seniors no more than an afterthought," Brown said. "We should never have had a penalty in the first place, and we should not be blocking seniors from signing up now."
Brown, the senior Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, has worked with colleagues in both houses of Congress to extend the deadline and reform the program.
Brown is co-sponsor of a bill that would allow seniors to receive drug benefits directly through Medicare, bypassing the private insurance market. He also co-sponsors a bill that would allow the government to negotiate lower drug prices, which the current program prohibits. Brown helped lead the opposition to the measure establishing Medicare Part D in 2003.
"President Bush and his supporters in Congress have failed to provide a program that truly works for seniors," Brown said. "We must stand up to the drug and insurance industries to bring prices down and extend coverage to all who need it."
Brown is running for U.S. Senate against Republican incumbent Mike DeWine. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, DeWine has received $595,077 in campaign contributions from insurance companies and $292,898 from the pharmaceutical industry in the course of his career.