SENATE DEMOCRATS TO BOEHNER: DON'T REPEAL "DONUT HOLE" FIX FOR SENIORSHOUSE GOP'S VOW TO ROLL BACK HEALTH CARE LAW WOULD COST 3.4M SENIORS THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ANNUALLY ON PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

WASHINGTON, DC- Senate Democrats today urged Speakerelect John Boehner to  protect seniors by not repealing  a new fix to Medicare's "donut hole" and warned they would block any health care repeal effort that  does so. The provision, which took effect Saturday,  is scheduled to save 3.4 million seniors thousands of dollars annually on prescription drug costs.

 

The incoming House Republican majority has promised to enact a "clean repeal" of the federal health care law in the opening days of the new Congress. In a letter to Boehner, Senate Democratic leaders warned that undoing the law would jeopardize a number of popular consumer protections, including some that are just now taking effect.

 

"We urge you to consider the unintended consequences that the law's repeal would have on a number of popular consumer protections that help middle class Americans," the senators wrote. "The 'donut hole' fix is just one measure that would be threatened by a repeal effort. Taking this benefit away from seniors would be irresponsible and reckless at a time when it is becoming harder and harder for seniors to afford a healthy retirement."

 

The senators added: "If House Republicans move forward with a repeal of the health care law that threatens consumer benefits like the "donut hole" fix, we will block it in the Senate. This proposal deserves a chance to work. It is too important to be treated as collateral damage in a partisan mission to repeal health care.

 

The letter was sent by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin, Democratic Vice Chairman Charles E. Schumer, Democratic Conference Secretary Patty Murray and Democratic Policy Committee Vice Chair Debbie Stabenow.

 

On Saturday, a key improvement to the Medicare prescription drug program took effect as a result of the healthcare law. The reform addresses a gap in Medicare Part D that forces beneficiaries to pay 100 percent of their drug costs after they exceed an initial coverage limit and until they qualify for catastrophic coverage. That gap in coverage-which totaled $3,610 in 2010-has existed since the drug benefit's creation in 2006.

 

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed by President Obama in January 2010, seniors who get stuck in the donut hole will now see the costs of their  brand name  drugs discounted by 50 percent.  This means that seniors  who have high prescription drug spending will save as much as $12,300 over the next 10 years and seniors with low drug costs will save an average of $2,400 over 10 years.

 

A copy of the senators' letter to Speakerelect Boehner appears below.

 

January 3, 2011

 

Speakerelect John Boehner

Office of the Speaker of the House

H232, U.S. Capitol

Washington, DC 20515

 

Dear Speakerelect Boehner,

 

As you know, several key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became effective on January 1, 2011. We write out of concern for one particular measure that addresses a loophole in the Medicare prescription drug benefit.

 

Ever since it was first enacted in 2003, the Medicare Part D program has come with a catch. Once an initial coverage limit is reached, beneficiaries have to absorb 100 percent of their drug costs until catastrophic coverage kicks in. This gap in coverage, known as the Medicare "donut hole," totaled $3,610 in 2010. That means that approximately 3.4 million U.S. seniors with the heaviest reliance on prescription drugs faced the prospect of paying up to $4,000 out of pocket before they qualified for further assistance from Medicare.

 

This gap in coverage has been a defect in the Medicare Part D program since its creation. It poses a hardship for all seniors, and for some, it has even bankrupted them.

 

Thankfully, the federal health care law signed in 2010 fully closes the socalled "donut hole" by 2020. The new law provides that seniors will receive a 50percent discount on the brand name drugs that they purchase while stuck in the "donut hole" and thus will save them thousands of dollars starting in 2011. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, seniors who have high prescription drug spending will save as much as $12,300 over the next 10 years and seniors with low drug costs will save an average of $2,400 over 10 years.

 

This is no minor reform. But almost as soon as it has taken effect, it is already in jeopardy.

 

The incoming House Republican majority that you lead has made the repeal of the federal health care law one of its chief goals. We urge you to consider the unintended consequences that the law's repeal would have on a number of popular consumer protections that help middle class Americans. The "donut hole" fix is just one measure that would be threatened by a repeal effort. Taking this benefit away from seniors would be irresponsible and reckless at a time when it is becoming harder and harder for seniors to afford a healthy retirement.

 

If House Republicans move forward with a repeal of the health care law that threatens consumer benefits like the "donut hole" fix, we will block it in the Senate. This proposal deserves a chance to work. It is too important to be treated as collateral damage in a partisan mission to repeal health care.

 

Sincerely,

 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin

Senate Democratic Vice Chairman Charles E. Schumer

Senate Democratic Conference Secretary Patty Murray

Senate Democratic Policy Committee Vice Chair Debbie Stabenow