Boxer Lauds Senate Agreement to Help Seniors Afford Prescription Drugs

Washington, DC– U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said today that the Senate health care reform bill has taken “a major step forward for our seniors” after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid committed to eliminate the prescription drug coverage gap – called the “doughnut hole” – as part of any final health care reform legislation.

The agreement will help more than 3 million seniors nationwide who currently fall into the prescription drug coverage gap in Medicare Part D, and millions more who live in fear of falling into this gap. In California, about 794,000 Medicare beneficiaries fall into the “doughnut hole,” which can cost some seniors an average of $4,080 a year.

Senator Boxer said. “This agreement will help ease the burden for more than 794,000 Californian seniors, who will no longer have to worry that their prescription drug coverage won’t be there when they need it most.”

Senator Boxer has long supported efforts to close the doughnut hole, which forces Medicare beneficiaries whose total drug costs reach $2,700 to pay all of their prescription drug costs until they have racked up more than $6,100 in total drug bills. Studies show that seniors who have trouble affording their prescription drugs are more likely to skip doses or stop taking their medication, which can result in more severe health problems and higher long-term health care costs.

More than 120 groups – including AARP, California Alliance for Retired Americans, Consumers Union, the American Nurses Association and the American Medical Association – wrote a letter to Senator Reid yesterday in support of his commitment to closing the coverage gap as part of final health care reform legislation passed by the House and Senate.

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