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09/15/2006 / Permalink / Adwatch, Health Care, Video, (all tags)

Brown campaigns for changes to drug plan

From Lima News: 

Democratic senatorial candidate Sherrod Brown called Sunday for changes to the newly enacted Medicare drug benefit plan.

Brown, standing on the steps of the Allen County Health Department surrounded by local Democratic candidates and 20 party activists, said seniors are on the losing end of a law written by and for drug companies.

"Mike DeWine and Republicans in Congress need to break their addiction to prescription drug campaign contributions and do the right thing," Brown said.

Brown, a U.S. representative from Northeast Ohio, is challenging U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, a Republican, for his seat. DeWine voted for Medicare Part D, which took effect earlier this year, giving seniors for the first time a government drug benefit plan.

DeWine is part of a Republican majority that responded to $30 million in drug company contributions to pass a bill that favors the drug and insurance industry, Brown said.

"That investment paid off handsomely for the drug industry," Brown said. "They will see an additional $140 billion in additional profits as a result of this bill, paid for by taxpayers."

Click here to read the full article. 

07/31/2006 / Permalink / Health Care, Medicare Part D, Seniors, (all tags)

Brown calls for simple, affordable Medicare Rx Benefit

As seniors fall into the doughnut hole and drug prices rise, special interests thank DeWine for Part D disaster

U.S. Representative Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today joined seniors, people with disabilities, and advocates to call for a simple, affordable Medicare drug benefit. Many seniors are now hitting the doughnut hole - a gap in coverage - in their Part D plans. They are being forced to pay full price for their prescription drugs - more than $2,000 in unexpected out of pocket costs. Senator Mike DeWine voted in favor of the Medicare Part D benefit. DeWine has taken nearly $300,000 in contributions from the drug and insurance industry.

"As the drug and insurance industries rake in tens of billions of dollars in profits, Ohio seniors and people with disabilities are being forced to pay full price for their prescription drugs as they hit gaps in coverage," said Brown. "This Medicare drug plan has provided windfall profits to the drug companies at the expense of Ohio seniors."

While seniors and people with disabilities continue to express frustration with the Part D disaster, Senator Mike DeWine continues to tout his vote in favor of the drug plans. The legislation included a $100 billion subsidy for the pharmaceutical industry, and has allowed the industry to earn tens of billions more off of the backs of the poorest seniors and taxpayers.

07/30/2006 / Permalink / Health Care, Medicare Part D, Seniors, (all tags)

10 percent of state’s Medicare beneficiaries lack coverage

From AP via Elyria Chronicle-Telegram: 

About 10 percent of Ohioans eligible for the federal government’s new prescription drug coverage lack insurance for medicines, according to federal figures sent to Congress this week.

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said the Ohio and national coverage rate of 90 percent is a significant improvement over the national average of 75 percent before the new Medicare drug benefit was made available Nov. 15.

The coverage rate in Ohio before the new Medicare benefit became available was even lower — 68 percent — according to an analysis conducted in 2005 for the Healthcare Leadership Council, an organization of pharmaceutical companies, insurers, hospitals and other supporters of the Medicare changes.

But that report also estimated 98 percent of Ohioans would be covered once the Medicare benefit took effect. Critics of the program say the federal agency downplayed some data that show more needs to be done to help all seniors afford the ever-increasing cost of prescription drugs.

The new Medicare drug benefit received bipartisan support when it passed Congress in 2003. Most Republicans have praised it for reducing the number of seniors who must pay out of pocket for their drugs. But some Democrats complained it was too confusing for seniors and should have given the government, rather than private health insurers, more control to negotiate lower drug prices.

“Drug makers are inflating their prices at the expense of seniors and taxpayers, and Medicare is barred from doing anything about it,” said Rep. Sherrod Brown, a Northeast Ohio Democrat running for U.S. Senate. “Perhaps it’s time for Republicans to stop playing up the new drug plan and start fixing it.”

The data show that about a third of eligible Ohioans actively chose a new prescription drug plan through Medicare. Others either decided to stay with plans offered by former employers or were automatically enrolled in a plan because they also were eligible for the state’s low-income Medicaid coverage.

For supporters of the Medicare plans, allowing two-thirds of Ohio beneficiaries to keep existing drug coverage was a positive thing. 

06/29/2006 / Permalink / Health Care, Medicare Part D, Seniors, (all tags)

Brown urges DeWine to end year-long obstruction on stem cell research bill

STEM-CELL OBSTRUCTION HITS ONE-YEAR MARK; 716,000 OHIO DIABETES PATIENTS WAITING FOR CURE

Brown Urges DeWine to Stop Helping Bush Block Life-Saving Research, Let Senate Hold Vote on Stem Cells

AMHERST--Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-Lorain County) today called on incumbent Republican Senator Mike DeWine to support a measure that would expand stem-cell research, which could provide hope for millions of sufferers of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, cancer, diabetes, ALS, and spinal cord injuries, among other serious conditions.

"We have a moral obligation to seek cures that will save lives," Brown said. "How much longer will President Bush and Senator DeWine force Ohio families to wait for the full promise of stem cell research?"

The bipartisan Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act has been blocked in the U.S. Senate since it was passed by the House on May 24, 2005. The legislation is opposed by Bush and some Republican allies in Congress -- including DeWine - but enjoys overwhelming support from the public. A national poll conducted earlier this month found that 72% of respondents supported advancing stem-cell research, with only 24% opposed.

Brown was an original co-sponsor of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act.

05/23/2006 / Permalink / Health Care, Seniors, stem cells, (all tags)

Dewine Medicare Rx `Fix’ Leaves More Than 400,000 Ohioans Without Coverage

Brown calls for unlocking of Part D enrollment

AMHERST--Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-Lorain County) today called for the immediate reopening of Medicare Part D enrollment for seniors, a critical step not addressed by the GOP proposal to waive the late penalty.

"We shouldn't solve half the problem, we should solve all of it," Brown said. "The insurance industry doesn't want to extend the enrollment deadline, so Republicans won't extend it. Why are insurers calling the shots?"

Unless the law is changed, most seniors will have to wait until November 15 to enroll in the drug benefit, and will not receive coverage until next January. Seniors who sign up in November will be subject to late penalties that permanently increases premiums by 7%.

Seniors attempting to sign up for the program have encountered a dizzying array of private insurance plans. Many have reported spending hours on hold with help lines, only to receive inaccurate information after getting through.

"Medicare Part D was created by the drug and insurance companies and for the drug and insurance companies, with seniors no more than an afterthought," Brown said. "We should never have had a penalty in the first place, and we should not be blocking seniors from signing up now."

05/16/2006 / Permalink / Health Care, Medicare Part D, Seniors, (all tags)

Distorting Democrats’ prescription drug plan

From Cleveland Plain Dealer:

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

The Republican smear ma chine is already running at full blast. Unfortunately, Plain Dealer headlines like "GOP: Brown a hypocrite on drug plan" (May 9) bring a smile to the faces of Republican spinmeisters.

Viewing the article with skepticism and knowing Rep. Sherrod Brown's principled views on prescription drug benefits, I checked the facts. The 2000 Democratic drug plan would have had Medicare in charge of the program through a select number of prescription drug plans, rather than the current confusing multitude of programs. The Democratic bill required negotiation of drug prices to obtain the lowest possible prices through bulk rates. Under the current GOP plan, such negotiations are explicitly prohibited. Under the Democratic plan, drugs could not be eliminated at the drug companies' whim, and seniors could not be precipitously dropped from a program.

Sen. Mike DeWine supported a prescription drug bill that the pharmaceutical companies wrote - at the expense of our seniors. Now DeWine allows GOP mudslingers to lie and distort the record of his Democratic opponent. I look forward to a debate on the issues. I think the facts will show who the real hypocrite is.

05/12/2006 / Permalink / Health Care, Medicare Part D, Seniors, (all tags)

Medicare Hotline Fails One-Third of Time on U.S. Drug Plan

From Bloomberg

Medicare's telephone hotline for a new federal drug subsidy gave wrong, incomplete or inappropriate answers or lost callers in one in three cases, a U.S. government report said today.

Investigators tested the hotline by making 500 calls, finding it took longer than five minutes in a quarter of cases to reach a Medicare representative, the Government Accountability Office said in the report. The office, which conducts investigations for Congress, said Medicare's handouts about the drug plan also were unclear, containing technical jargon and often not defining unfamiliar terms.

Congressional Democrats seized on the report as evidence that the Bush administration should extend a May 15 deadline for enrolling in the drug plan, which serves people 65 and older. Medicare chief Mark McClellan said this week that the program, known as Part D, plans to stick with the deadline, and that the administration isn't ``focused at all'' now on considering waiving penalties for late enrollment.

``Without reliable customer support, the Part D program isn't just complicated, it's a health-care crap shoot,'' said Representative Sherrod Brown of Ohio, the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's health subcommittee, in a statement. The report is ``yet another reason for Republican leaders to delay the May 15th enrollment deadline.''

...The report was released by Brown and four other Democratic congressmen: John Dingell of Michigan, Charles Rangel of New York, Pete Stark of California, and Henry Waxman of California.

Medicare served about 35.8 million people ages 65 and older last year, and 6.7 million people with disabilities, including severe mental illness. Many of the disabled Medicare beneficiaries previously got their drugs through the Medicaid state-federal program for the poor.

Click here to read the full article.

05/04/2006 / Permalink / Health Care, Medicare Part D, Seniors, (all tags)