Letter: Hands off Part D, Congress
September 18, 2012
A statewide volunteer network organized to protect and promote Medicare Part D is reactivating its 700 members because political threats to the program are becoming more pronounced in Congress.
We intend to remind Louisiana’s congressional delegation about the integral role Medicare Part D plays in giving Louisiana seniors and adults with disabilities access to affordable, life-saving medicines that keep them independent and living at home.
Ironically, the program has become a political football even as it announced that average basic premiums for Medicare Prescription Drug Plans have remained steady for three years in a row.
The average 2013 monthly premium for basic prescription drug coverage will be about $30, about the same as in 2011 and 2012.
Since the law was enacted, seniors and adults with disabilities have saved nearly $4 billion on prescription drugs.
This year, people with Medicare received a 50 percent discount on covered brand-name drugs and 14 percent coverage of generic drugs in the donut hole. These savings will increase in 2013.
Budget savings should not come at the expense of our oldest citizens, citizens who paid into this system with the promise of support. We will be asking others in Louisiana to stand with us to tell Congress, “Hands off Part D.”
Michelle Baquet
Advocacy director
New Orleans