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Americans United Announces Local “Fix Part D Hearings” for Members of Congress During Memorial Day

Members, Congressional Staff to Hear from Seniors, Disabled Constituents on Part D's Serious Flaws and Will Be Asked to Take A Stand on Proposed Fixes

Hearings will also unveil for first time locally a new video on Part D narrated by former CBS Newsman Walter Cronkite

Washington D.C. - On the heels of the open enrollment period closing for millions of seniors and disabled to sign up for the Medicare Part D, Americans United announced today that it will hold 18 "Fix Part D Hearings" in 14 states across the nation to discuss serious flaws in the fledgling prescription drug program. Americans United will invite Members of Congress and their staff to receive testimony from seniors, the disabled, and experts on Part D who will offer real ways to fix the embattled program. Americans United, along with state affiliates of national partner USAction, will also show a short video produced by the national health care consumers group Families USA and narrated by respected former CBS Newsman Walter Cronkite, entitled "The Problems with the Medicare Drug Program - and How to Fix Them". Members will be asked to take a firm position on Americans United's plan to fix to Part D. The current schedule of "Fix Part D Hearings" can be found below.

"It's important that Congress hear concerns directly from their senior and disabled constituents who have either been locked out of the Part D program until next year with no coverage and those who will soon find themselves within the program's massive coverage gap while still paying costly monthly premiums," said Jeremy Funk, spokesman for Americans United. "They need to hear first hand from people hurt by the costly and corrupt nature of the program and they need to support meaningful fixes to make it simple, affordable and guaranteed."

Part D is a special interest law that was written by and for the big drug and insurance companies. It prohibits Medicare from negotiating for the lowest possible drug prices for seniors and denies seniors the choice of a simple prescription drug benefit directly from Medicare. It shelters a massive ‘donut hole,' a gap in coverage for annual costs between $2,250 and $5,100 which will result in millions of seniors being denied coverage each year while they still pay monthly premiums. In addition, if the enrollment period is not reopened, seniors and disabled Americans will not be able to get drug coverage under Part D until January, 2007 at the earliest - and will face a seven percent penalty on their premiums each month thereafter for the rest of their lives.

"Part D was written by and for the special interests. There's no other reason why Medicare would be prohibited from negotiating lower prices with the drug companies. There's no other reason why seniors are forbidden from getting a drug plan directly through Medicare. There's no other reason why the private insurance plans are allowed to drop coverage for specific drugs at any time while seniors are locked into their plans," added Funk.

Americans United Plan to Fix Part D

• Reduce the cost of prescription drugs by requiring Medicare to negotiate lower prices from drug companies
• Close the "donut hole" referring to the gap in coverage for annual costs between two thousand two hundred fifty dollars and five thousand one hundred dollars which will result in millions of seniors being denied coverage each year while they still pay monthly premiums
  
• Allow seniors the choice of obtaining their prescription drug plan directly from Medicare--instead of from a private insurance company.
  
• Prohibit insurance companies from dropping drugs after a plan stats if people are prohibited from switching plans
  
• Re-open Part D enrollment and waive the late enrollment penalty until Part D is fixed.