Statement by Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA, on the prescription drug proposal announced today by House Republicans:
"This proposal has all the attributes of a mirage - it looks inviting from a distance, but once you get up close, you realize there's nothing there.
"The Republicans' 'new' plan does not offer any concrete benefit. Like previous versions of this proposal, it relies on private insurance companies to offer prescription drug-only coverage, something the insurers have already emphatically stated they will not do. In fact, the president of the Health Insurance Association of America has called this idea 'an empty promise to America's seniors.' "
"Under this proposal, most seniors would have to pay 100 percent of the cost of the benefit. A widow or widower living on as little as $12,525 a year would not get any help with the cost of insurance premiums, even if the insurance companies can be persuaded to offer it.
"What's more, consumers do not know what they'll actually get out of this. The Republican proposal leaves the actual benefit undefined. It could be some paltry amount that offers no real help to seniors. Any prescription drug insurance policy with real coverage will be priced far out of reach for most of our senior citizens.
"What seniors really need is a guaranteed drug benefit in Medicare that covers basic and catastrophic drug needs, not a hazy promise of private insurance that evaporates once you get close enough to look at it."
Families USA is the national organization for health care consumers. It is non-profit and non-partisan and advocates for high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans.
