Dr. Ruiz Applauds Successful Effort to Protect Medicare Prescription Drug Benefits

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Dr. Raul Ruiz (D-Palm Desert) applauded the decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to withdraw a proposed rule for Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage that would abruptly change and limit the availability of prescription drug coverage for seniors who rely on Medicare. The decision by CMS comes after Dr. Ruiz and over 40 Members of Congress sent a letter urging the CMS to rescind the rule.

“As an emergency medicine physician my priority is the seniors I care for and serve, and I know first hand how important Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage is for our seniors,” said Dr. Ruiz. “I was pleased to join the effort to prevent this reckless rule that would have forced seniors across Riverside County to abruptly face limited Medicare Part D plan choices and restricted access to critical prescription drugs without consulting their physician. As I have in the past, I will always stand with our seniors to oppose any effort that would weaken our seniors hard earned Medicare benefits.”

The proposed rule would have abruptly changed the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit, limiting choices and potentially raising drug prices for nearly 13 million beneficiaries.

See below for the letter Dr. Ruiz and over 40 Members of Congress sent to CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner:

March 10, 2014

Dear Administrator Tavenner:

We are writing to urge you to withdraw the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Part D proposed rule (CMS-4159-P). We are deeply concerned that this rule threatens to cause disruption for millions of Part D enrollees this fall during 2015 Open Enrollment and inflict significant harm to the successful Part D model that has resulted in high enrollee satisfaction and lower-than-expected costs.

Over the past decade, Medicare Part D has been a model for government and industry cooperation in health care. The program has maintained stable, affordable average monthly premiums, enjoys a 90 percent approval rating among beneficiaries, and has cost nearly $200 billion less than original Congressional Budget Office projections. This tremendous success has been achieved through Medicare Part D’s unique model, which promotes robust competition among plans to serve Medicare beneficiaries while ensuring they meet strict coverage, quality, and service standards enforced by CMS.

We are very concerned that the proposed rule will jeopardize the effectiveness and benefits of Medicare Part D, including beneficiary access to lower-premium drug plans. Lower-premium drug plans – some as low as $12.60 a month – account for around 70% of total stand-alone Part D enrollment. Enrollees in lower-premium plans are overwhelmingly satisfied, citing lower costs, convenient access to pharmacies, and other benefits. Research even shows that many of the lower-premium plans have the same or better average quality ratings than plans with higher premiums. We fear this proposed rule could restrict plan choice and access to needed drugs for seniors who choose lower-premium plans.

In light of the success of Medicare Part D and our strong concerns with the sweeping changes being considered by CMS, we ask that you withdraw the proposed rule.

Sincerely,

Patrick E. Murphy
Member of Congress

Raul Ruiz
Member of Congress
Joe Garcia
Member of Congress
Ron Barber
Member of Congress
Ami Bera
Member of Congress
Tony Cárdenas
Member of Congress
John Carney
Member of Congress
André Carson
Member of Congress
Katherine Clark
Member of Congress
Wm. Lacy Clay
Member of Congress
Jim Costa
Member of Congress
Henry Cuellar
Member of Congress
Suzan DelBene
Member of Congress
Elizabeth Esty
Member of Congress
Chaka Fattah
Member of Congress
Marcia Fudge
Member of Congress
Alcee L. Hastings
Member of Congress
Denny Heck
Member of Congress
Rush Holt
Member of Congress
Steve Israel
Member of Congress
Hank Johnson
Member of Congress
Derek Kilmer
Member of Congress
Ann M. Kuster
Member of Congress
Barbara Lee
Member of Congress
Sean Patrick Maloney
Member of Congress
Jim Matheson
Member of Congress
Gregory Meeks
Member of Congress
Donald M. Payne, Jr.
Member of Congress
Gary Peters
Member of Congress
Scott Peters
Member of Congress
Collin Peterson
Member of Congress
Jared Polis
Member of Congress
Mike Quigley
Member of Congress
Linda Sánchez
Member of Congress
Brad Schneider
Member of Congress
Kurt Schrader
Member of Congress
David Scott
Member of Congress
Kyrsten Sinema
Member of Congress
Albio Sires
Member of Congress
Eric Swalwell
Member of Congress
Bennie Thompson
Member of Congress
Marc Veasey
Member of Congress
Frederica Wilson
Member of Congress