President pledges Medicare reform: Discount prescription drug card a priority

Benjamin Grove

Thursday, July 12, 2001 | 11:05 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- All seniors should be eligible for a discount prescription drug card to help them cope with the high cost of medications, President Bush said today, unveiling a "Framework to Strengthen Medicare" plan.

Bush aims to overhaul the nation's 36-year-old Medicare system that at one point, he likened to a 1965 Ford Mustang: a classic, but in need of restoration.

"When it comes to cars and when it comes to health care, 1965 is not state-of-the-art," Bush said.

The president invited Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., and other lawmakers, along with several seniors, to join him in a Rose Garden ceremony. Ensign and Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., as early as next week plan to introduce a bill that provides an "infrastructure" to Bush's voluntary discount drug card plan, Ensign said.

"Seniors should not have to choose between rent, food and prescription drugs," Ensign said.

Meanwhile a car parked on a White House driveway during the ceremony raised suspicions, forcing a partial evacuation of the West Wing. Authorities checked for explosives and found none, and the building was reopened.

Some Democrats are criticizing the Medicare plan, saying their long-standing proposal to include prescription drug costs as part of Medicare coverage is still the best plan. Unlike most employer-sponsored health plans, Medicare does not pay for prescription drugs.

Under the Bush plan, Medicare would endorse and promote -- but not manage -- several privately administered prescription drug discount cards, similar to some already offered by pharmaceutical and other companies. The cards would cost a dollar or two, Bush said. The plan relies on a market-based approach in which health plan companies that offer drug benefits would negotiate reduced drug prices with drug manufacturers and pass along lower prices to card-carrying consumers.

The card could save Medicare recipients 25 percent in drug costs, White House officials said.

The card plan would be voluntary; Medicare recipients could choose to keep their current Medicare benefits.

The Bush plan doesn't need congressional approval, White House officials said. The cards could be available within a year, Bush said.

"Seniors can't wait for prescription drugs," Ensign said. "You ask any 88-year-old if they can wait three or four years, and I think their answer is obvious."

Ensign said he developed his similar version of the Bush plan during his campaign, and it nearly matched a plan that Hagel was plotting. Ensign and Hagel decided to combine their efforts, which complement Bush's proposals.

Bush touted other reforms, including:

* Medicare should provide better coverage for preventative care and serious illnesses.

* Medicare should provide more health insurance options, like those available to federal employees.

* The programs's long-term financial security and management should be strengthened.

In other action on Capitol Hill, Rep Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., is goading fellow House members to relieve doctors who are drowning in paperwork that Medicare requires for every patient.

Berkley, along with Rep. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., now have 222 co-signers, a majority of the House, for a bill they introduced aimed at slashing red tape doctors must wade through when they deal with patients covered by Medicare.

"I believe we have a golden opportunity to really make an impact and to eliminate needless regulations," Berkley said at a press conference Wednesday.

As it stands, Medicare requires physicians to fill out reams of paperwork, lawmakers said. If they fail, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services can threaten audits and intimidate doctors, lawmakers said.

The Medicare Education and Regulatory Flexibility Act, in part, would reform practices of federal Medicare managers. The bill simplifies current regulations and seeks to better educate doctors about regulations.

At least one Nevada doctor agreed national legislation would make his practice more efficient. Pahrump family practicioner Robert Shreck said he has increased his staff from 2.5 to 4.5 in his one-doctor office, partly due to the gradual increase in Medicare regulations in the last 10 years or so.

"There's definitely a lot of paperwork," said Shreck, president-elect of the Nevada Medical Association, who has emailed Berkley about the problem.

The Associated Press

contributed to this article.