Frank Pallone: “this week seniors nationwide will begin to see how ineffective and confusing the Republican prescription drug…”

“this week seniors nationwide will begin to see how ineffective and confusing the Republican prescription drug legislation is. This week, seniors have the opportunity to sign up for a new prescription drug card that will provide supposed savings on prescription drug costs. The program begins on June 1; and while the new Medicare law will not take effect until 2006, it is clear that these drug cards are being used as a ploy to enroll beneficiaries into products sponsored by the private drug and insurance industry. Mr. Speaker, while some seniors will be able to save on their medications when they use these cards, many will not. In fact, I believe these drugs cards are nothing more than window dressing, a weak attempt by the Bush administration to couch the true intent of this Medicare law. As seniors will see in the upcoming weeks, there is no guaranteed discount from drug card sponsors. Medicare discount cards are being marketed as providing a 10 to 25 percent discount, but there is no requirement in the new law that card sponsors must offer any specific discount. The idea of any savings is merely an illusion. Prescription costs rose 17 percent alone last year and drug prices are reported to have increased dramatically between the beginning of the year and now, so any savings have been lost to drug cost inflation.”