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National
Grange Sponsors Senator Dole's National Medicare Speaking Tour
 | | (left
to right) Senator Bob Dole, National Grange Legislative Assistant Joanne Manelli
and National Grange President William Steel |
Washington,
March 2, 2004 - The National Grange recently joined Senator Bob Dole in kicking
off his national speaking tour to discuss the new Medicare drug law benefiting
America's seniors and people living with disabilities. Senator Dole invited health
organizations and other organizations representing the Act's targeted recipients
to learn more about this new benefit in order to effectively inform their audiences
and members about their improved Medicare choices. "While
the Grange is not a health organization, we are tremendously concerned about ensuring
that our older members have access to needed prescription medications," National
Grange President William Steel said. "Senator Dole's efforts will help us ensure
that our members fully understand the legislation and take advantage of the benefit
when it becomes available in a few months." On
December 8, 2003, President Bush signed into law the Medicare Prescription Drug,
Improvement and Modernization Act. The Act preserves and strengthens the current
Medicare program by adding important new prescription drug benefits. After
signing the Act, President Bush commented, "Drug coverage under Medicare will
allow seniors to replace more expensive surgeries and hospitalizations with less
expensive prescription medicine. And even more important, drug coverage under
Medicare will save our seniors from a lot of worry. Some older Americans spend
much of their Social Security checks just on their medications. Some cut down
on the dosage, to make a bottle of pills last longer. Elderly Americans should
not have to live with those kinds of fears and hard choices. And this new law
will ease the burden on seniors and give them the extra help they need." The
new Medicare drug benefit will be introduced in two steps. Starting June 1, 2004,
Medicare beneficiaries, who have enrolled in a pharmacy discount plan offered
by a private company, will receive a Medicare-approved drug discount card. The
card, which is available for a $30 annual enrollment fee, will give seniors and
people with disabilities a 10 to 25 percent savings off the retail price of most
prescriptions. According to the White House, most seniors spend $1,285 annually
on medicines. In most cases, the card would save a senior who lacks drug coverage
as much as $300 annually. Low-income seniors - those with a yearly income under
$12,123 - will receive additional help paying for their medicines because a $600
annual subsidy will be added to their drug discount card. The
card will provide savings until the full drug benefit goes into effect in two
years. Beginning in 2006, seniors without coverage would be able to join a Medicare-approved
plan that would cut their yearly drug costs roughly in half, in exchange for a
$35 monthly premium. According to the White House, seniors with no drug coverage
and monthly drug costs of $200 would save more than $1,700 on drug costs each
year, while seniors with no drug coverage and monthly drug costs of $800 would
save nearly $5,900 on drug costs each year. The
National Grange, in conjunction with Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, will work to educate
its members about the changes to Medicare through a special education campaign
that will be implemented in the coming months. Other sponsoring organizations
of Dole's informational sessions include the ALS Association, the Alliance for
Aging Research, the Lupus Foundation of America, RetireSafe, the Nation's Voice
on Mental Illness and the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease. "The
Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit represents the greatest expansion of Medicare
benefits since its inception," Senator Dole said. "It will help millions of Americans
lower the cost of their prescriptions and millions more will be eligible for free
medicines." | 
