Jon Tester, U.S. Senator

Jon Tester today urged Montana seniors to sign up for the new state prescription drug discount program (Big Sky Rx) he helped pass in the 2005 Legislature and urged Congress and the Bush Administration to allow the federal government to negotiate Medicare prescription drug prices.

Tester was the chief Senate sponsor of Senate Bill 324, known as the Big Sky Rx Program, which could allow up to 30,000 Montana seniors to sign up for a state prescription drug discount program.

“Here in Montana, we passed bipartisan legislation earlier this year to provide real prescription drug relief, cover low-income seniors, and negotiate discounts for the uninsured and underinsured,� Tester said on the day Americans could sign up for the new Medicare prescription program passed by Congress in late 2003. “Now I’m urging Congress and the administration to allow Medicare to negotiate on a federal level for discount prescription drug prices.�

Big Sky Rx is a state program to help pay drug-coverage premiums for eligible low-income Montanans enrolled in a prescription drug plan under Medicare Part D. The program was created by the 2005 Legislature and is funded with tobacco tax revenue.

Meanwhile, Tester said that the federal government should give seniors more time to sign up for the new Medicare prescription drug program because it can be confusing. Tester also said he will advocate for allowing Medicare to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies to make prescription drugs more affordable to seniors. The current Medicare law does not allow that.

“That is a flaw in the bill and something I want to help fix,� Tester said. “The federal plan should be simpler and less expensive for taxpayers, and less expensive for the people enrolled. But in the short term Congress should act immediately to push back the late enrollment penalty that would hurt seniors who are confused by the Medicare prescription drug plans.�

“And over the long term, Congress needs to revisit this bill as a means of also addressing the spiraling deficit. Allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, just like the Veterans Administration and the Department of Defense do, and simplifying the process will be necessary. Those steps will also give more meaningful prescription drug assistance to those who need it most.”

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Background

MONTANA PLAN PROVIDED A MEANINGFUL RX BENEFIT. Montana’s plan, co-sponsored by Democratic Senator Jon Tester and Republican Representative Don Roberts, pays for coverage for up to 20,000 low-income Medicare-eligible seniors and disabled Montanans and negotiates rebates with pharmaceutical companies for as many as 120,000 Montanans. [AARP Montana, “SB 324 The Affordable Rx Act,� 2005] Senate Bill 324 passed the 2005 Montana Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Schweitzer.

BIG SKY Rx PROGRAM. Big Sky Rx is a state program to help pay drug-coverage premiums for eligible Montanans enrolled in a prescription drug plan under Medicare Part D. The program was created by the 2005 Legislature and is funded with tobacco tax revenue. To be eligible for the program, you must: Be a Montana resident; and Have a family income of 200 percent or less of the federal poverty level. To enroll in the program, you must provide the following information: Medicare prescription drug plan enrollment information; and If your income is at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level and you have limited assets, a determination from the Social Security Extra Help program. [http://www.dphhs.mt.gov/prescriptiondrug/bigsky.shtml]

NEGOTIATING PRICES WORKS. “A new Congressional Budget Office [...] study showed that large federal departments that use their mass buying power to negotiate prescription drug prices for their employees pay an average of 49 percent of the typical wholesale price. But because Congress prohibited Medicare from using its buying clout to negotiate better wholesale prices, taxpayers and Medicare users will be paying twice as much as necessary for the program.� [San Antonio Express-News, “Editorial: Congress inhibiting Medicare’s Influence,� 7/7/2005]

FEDERAL PLAN TOO CONFUSING AND TOO BURDENSOME. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that over 60% of seniors say they do not understand the Medicare prescription drug program very well or at all. [Kaiser Family Foundation, “As enrollment begins, new survey underscores challenges if seniors are to take advantage of Medicare drug benefit,� 11/10/05]

Posted on Tuesday, November 15th, 2005 at 4:39 pm.