On July 8, the House approved, by voice vote, a bill (H.R. 2631) that would ensure that the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) provides federal retirees with the same prescription drug benefit as it currently provides to current federal employees.
Sponsored by Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), the bill was introduced to maintain the status quo. In the past few weeks, retired federal employees have voiced their concerns that their prescription drug coverage would be reduced to the same level as provided in the Medicare legislation (H.R 1) passed by the House in June (see The Source, 6/27/03).
Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-VA) spoke in support of H.R. 2631 because it “fulfills the promise of the Federal Government not to eliminate prescription drug coverage to its retirees once a prescription drug benefit is also available through Medicare.”
However, many Democrats used the debate as an opportunity to reiterate their concerns with the Medicare legislation. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) spoke in support of the bill and stated “federal retirees deserve an adequate prescription drug benefit just like all America’s seniors do,” but he argued that “this legislation is necessary because the prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries that was forced through the House by the Republican majority is inadequate and unresponsive to the needs of America’s seniors and disabled persons.”
Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) has introduced a comparable bill (S. 1369) in the Senate.
