Orrin Hatch: “Everyone will be offered a Medicare-endorsed drug discount card in April 2004. This will cost no more than $30 per year.…”

“Everyone will be offered a Medicare-endorsed drug discount card in April 2004. This will cost no more than $30 per year. These drug discount cards will immediately provide our seniors with drug savings ranging from 10 to 25 percent. Right off, that's a benefit you don't have now. In addition, this is a fair bill and a fair provision. We have targeted the lion's share of this benefit to those seniors who have the greatest need. Those under 135 percent of the federal poverty level will receive $600 per year to buy their prescription drugs and will not be required to pay enrollment fees. That's a total of $53.6 million in additional help for 45,000 Utah residents in 2004 and 2005. These low-income beneficiaries would only be required to pay coinsurance between 5 and 10 percent for each prescription drug. That is a tremendous change from today. The prescription drug card program concludes when the larger benefit kicks in on January 1, 2006. Beginning in 2006, 220,000 Medicare beneficiaries will be offered access to the new standard prescription drug program.”