Nancy L. Johnson: “the landmark Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act that this body passed in 2003 was the subject of heated…”

“the landmark Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act that this body passed in 2003 was the subject of heated rhetoric and partisan attacks at that time. Most recently, we have heard the claim that the costs of this wonderful Medicare prescription drug benefit have skyrocketed far above the estimates relied upon when we passed the bill in 2003. Allow me to set the record straight. The cost of the Medicare prescription drug benefit that will guarantee every senior in America affordable prescription drug coverage has not changed. In November of 2003, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the costs of the drug benefit from 2004 to 2013 would be $408 billion. Today, they estimated it at $410 billion. In December of 2003, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, using different assumptions, estimated that the cost of the bill over the same 10-year period would be $511 billion. Today, they are saying it will cost $518 billion. So, whatever estimates we use, whichever set of assumptions we wish to rely on, CBO's or CMS', the answer is the cost estimates have not changed. They varied about plus or minus 1 percent.”