Schumer announces reforms to fix doughnut hole
WASHINGTON, DC – United States Senator Charles Schumer announced federal health care reform Tuesday which will save New York senior citizens approximately $2.2 billion in prescription drug savings over the next decade.
According to Schumer, the reform will address the coverage gap, known as Medicare Part D’s “doughnut hole,” which forced an estimated 244,402 New York seniors to pick up 100 percent of their prescription drug costs once they had exceeded the $2,800 covered by Medicare Part D.
The reform, which went into effect Jan. 1, will save approximately 850 Chenango County seniors an estimated $7,739,605.
“This doughnut hole will no longer be a thorn in the side of New York’s cash-strapped seniors,” stated Schumer. “Starting this week, fewer seniors will have to choose between paying for prescription drugs and paying for food, and between being healthy and being warm.”
Closing the doughnut hole will make a major difference to seniors across the state, added the senator, who said the fix is paid for and would not add “a single dime to the deficit.”
Schumer criticized House Republicans for their proposed plan to repeal health care reform next week, and said he felt it unfair for those in favor of the repeal to deny government health care to those in need while receiving the same care themselves.
President Barack Obama has already stated he would veto any repeal by the House, added the senator.
Seniors stuck in the doughnut hole will see the cost of their brand-name drugs discounted by 50 percent in 2011 – thanks to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Obama in March of 2010 – said Schumer, who added the discount will save the average New York senior approximately $9,000 over the next ten years.
According to Chenango County Area Agency on the Aging Coordinator of Services Brian Wessels, the CCAAA’s Health Insurance Information, Counseling and Assistance Program counsels hundreds of local Medicare beneficiaries with doughnut hole issues, attempting to find solutions so they can afford to continue taking their medications.
“The doughnut hole has been the one flaw of the Medicare Part D program,” said Wessels. “Obviously, any financial assistance to Chenango seniors to reduce their out of pocket drug costs is welcome news.”
According to Schumer, the reform will address the coverage gap, known as Medicare Part D’s “doughnut hole,” which forced an estimated 244,402 New York seniors to pick up 100 percent of their prescription drug costs once they had exceeded the $2,800 covered by Medicare Part D.
The reform, which went into effect Jan. 1, will save approximately 850 Chenango County seniors an estimated $7,739,605.
“This doughnut hole will no longer be a thorn in the side of New York’s cash-strapped seniors,” stated Schumer. “Starting this week, fewer seniors will have to choose between paying for prescription drugs and paying for food, and between being healthy and being warm.”
Closing the doughnut hole will make a major difference to seniors across the state, added the senator, who said the fix is paid for and would not add “a single dime to the deficit.”
Schumer criticized House Republicans for their proposed plan to repeal health care reform next week, and said he felt it unfair for those in favor of the repeal to deny government health care to those in need while receiving the same care themselves.
President Barack Obama has already stated he would veto any repeal by the House, added the senator.
Seniors stuck in the doughnut hole will see the cost of their brand-name drugs discounted by 50 percent in 2011 – thanks to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Obama in March of 2010 – said Schumer, who added the discount will save the average New York senior approximately $9,000 over the next ten years.
According to Chenango County Area Agency on the Aging Coordinator of Services Brian Wessels, the CCAAA’s Health Insurance Information, Counseling and Assistance Program counsels hundreds of local Medicare beneficiaries with doughnut hole issues, attempting to find solutions so they can afford to continue taking their medications.
“The doughnut hole has been the one flaw of the Medicare Part D program,” said Wessels. “Obviously, any financial assistance to Chenango seniors to reduce their out of pocket drug costs is welcome news.”
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