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For the third consecutive year, the average premium for Medicare prescription drug coverage will be lower than expected, the Bush administration said Thursday. On average, Medicare beneficiaries will pay $28 per month for their Part D prescription drug plans next year, according to an announcement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The administration’s most senior Medicare official said the lower-than-projected premiums stand as further evidence that Medicare Part D, enacted by the Republican-controlled Congress in 2003 after a bitterly partisan fight with Democrats, has been a success. “Measured by enrollment, lower costs than originally expected and persistently high satisfaction rates, the Part D drug benefit program has in a short time become a stable, familiar and vital part of Medicare,” acting CMS Administrator Kerry Weems said. Medicare beneficiaries can choose a drug plan for next year from Nov. 15 through Dec. 31. Those who want to keep their current plan do not have to re-enroll. Qualifying low-income beneficiaries can get Part D plans at no cost. When President Bush signed the program into law, 2009 premiums were projected to be $44. The average monthly premium is $25 this year and was $24 in 2007 and $32 in 2006, according to previous CMS statements. The $3 increase from this year’s premiums is mostly attributed to higher drug costs, CMS said. Democrats characterized Part D as a giveaway by the Republicans to the drug industry and to the health insurance companies that administer the program. Democrats maintain the federal government could run the program more cheaply and more fairly and, since seizing control of Congress in 2006, Democrats have sought unsuccessfully to increase federal control over the privately run program. But fiscal conservatives accused President Bush of failing in his commitment to reduce federal spending because of his strong support for adding a drug benefit to Medicare, which already is a massive part of the federal budget. Some Republican lawmakers, including presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, opposed the creation of Part D. McCain (Ariz.) and others objected to the projected $300 billion, five-year price tag associated with the bill. Last year, the Democratically controlled Congress advanced legislation to give the Department of Health and Human Services the authority to negotiate bulk discounts on pharmaceutical prices for Medicare enrollees. The bill passed the House but, amid staunch opposition from the White House and the Senate GOP leadership, failed to win the necessary 60 votes in the Senate on a procedural motion. McCain did not vote but said he supported the Democratic bill. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), McCain’s rival for the White House, voted for the measure. |
