Protecting Medicare Beneficiaries' Informed Choice Act of 2005

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time of the gentlewoman from Tennessee.

Mr. Speaker, as we stand here on this Chamber floor, thousands of seniors in my district and millions across our country are suffering through piles of Medicare drug plan offers; and in far too many cases, these seniors are faced with a difficult dilemma. They are suffering under the weight of too much information, with too little time in which to make a choice on what drug plan they will use under the Medicare prescription drug program.

Their decision is by no means simple. The drug plans our seniors choose will define their health care options for years to come. If they do not make a decision and wait until the May 15 deadline passes, they will face penalties and higher prices for the drugs that they need.

This week the Bucks County Courier Times, a daily paper in my district in Pennsylvania, mentioned the drug program dilemma faced by one senior. Mary Ann Morgan was fighting through the details and complications of the new program. She said, ``It's the same as if you're going to buy a stock. The fine print is hard to figure out.''

Traditionally, Medicare's assurance has been that for the elderly and persons with disabilities that they will not be alone when confronted with the full burden of their health care costs. However, the Medicare prescription drug benefit has changed, and if the nearly 3,000 seniors I have met through 12 town halls can represent a sample of opinion, many seniors do not yet understand the prescription drug program and do not plan to sign up for coverage.

Despite the administration's long public information campaign, for many months polls have consistently indicated only 37 percent of those eligible for Medicare say they only partially understand the program. Sixty-one percent state they simply do not understand the program. Approximately one in four seniors, 24 percent, say they plan to join the program, while 54 percent say they do not plan to join, and 22 percent have no opinion.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services projected that 39.1 million Medicare beneficiaries would have creditable prescription drug coverage for 2006. Of this total, HHS projected that 29.3 million beneficiaries would be enrolled in part D plans, and nearly 10 million beneficiaries would have creditable drug coverage under qualified plans such as employer- or union-sponsored plans.

Mr. Speaker, the most recent enrollment figures released just last month indicate that only 19.7 million beneficiaries are enrolled in a Medicare part D prescription drug plan, a number that falls short of the hoped for estimate of 29.3 million. This rate of enrollment cannot be viewed as a success. Members of Congress must act to modify the original plan.

Mr. Speaker, I contend that there is a simple solution to this problem. Our seniors need more time, and Congress should provide it to them. Congress changed Medicare to give our seniors more choice in what has historically been a highly structured government program. Congress cannot in good conscience allow thousands of seniors to suffer penalties simply because they could not make an informed decision for their health care coverage and do so in time.

It is for these reasons that I introduced H.R. 4399, legislation that will extend the initial year's enrollment period an additional 6 months, until November 14, 2006. My legislation would also extend the enrollment period for an additional 4\1/2\ months for all subsequent years. And, finally, under my legislation penalties would be suspended for 2 years when seniors enroll late in the program.

I call on my colleagues to join as a cosponsor of H.R. 4399 to give Mary Ann Morgan and thousands of seniors like her more time to make the best use of the choice that they have been given.