After a highly partisan mark-up, the House Ways and Means Committee on June 21 approved by a party line vote, 23-14, a bill (H.R. 4680) that would provide prescription drug coverage for seniors.
Sponsored by Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA), the bill would allow private insurance companies to offer Medicare beneficiaries prescription drug coverage. Under the measure, monthly premiums would average $40 in 2003. Additionally, the proposed plan would establish a $250 deductible, after which the plan would pay for 50 percent of prescription drug costs with a yearly cap of $2,100.
Democrats offered a substitute amendment that would have provided prescription drug coverage under Medicare. The plan would have instituted an average monthly premium of $24 in 2003, rising to $51 by 2010. The plan would have covered 50 percent of participants’ prescription drug costs up to $2,200, with no deductible. The cap would have risen to $5,000 in 2009. The substitute amendment was defeated by a party line vote of 14-23.
The measure is scheduled for House consideration the week of June 26.
