Gaps in Prescription Drug Legislation Would Punish Millions with Alzheimer's Disease, Says Alzheimer's Association

8/28/2003

From: Scott Treibitz, 703-276-2772 ext. 11, for the Alzheimer's Association

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 -- Several provisions in the prescription drug legislation which will be debated in a congressional conference committee next week, would be punitive to millions of people with Alzheimer's disease, resulting in higher costs for older, sicker beneficiaries who stay with traditional fee-for-service Medicare plans and failing to cover those who have no private plan options, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

"The Alzheimer's Association supports key provisions in the bills recently passed by both the House and Senate. However, Congress needs to address two major issues in the House-passed version, which would place enormous burdens on millions of the nation's oldest, sickest citizens who have Alzheimer's and other dementias," said Sheldon Goldberg, president and CEO of the Alzheimer's Association in a letter to congressional leaders. "First, the final bill must ensure that a drug benefit will be available even when private plan options do not exist, and second, it cannot demand higher premiums for those who remain in traditional Medicare fee-for-service plans."

Persons with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias use more prescription drugs than other Medicare beneficiaries, meaning they are the hardest hit by a lack of Medicare coverage for prescription drugs.

Although encouraged by progress on the prescription drug benefit legislation, the Alzheimer's Association warned that its support for the final bill was not guaranteed unless these two troubling provisions are addressed in the final legislation.

In addition, Goldberg pointed to a need for consumer protections to ensure those with cognitive impairment and memory problems have the necessary safeguards and fallbacks to navigate the complex requirements for enrollment and other paperwork. He also expressed concern about a provision in the Senate version prohibiting low-income Medicare beneficiaries who are also on full Medicaid from participating in the new Medicare drug benefit. Almost half of Medicare beneficiaries with Alzheimer's disease also receive help from Medicaid.

"We have found things to like about these bills, including a cap on catastrophic prescription drug costs and provisions that open the door to care coordination for people with Alzheimer's and other chronic health conditions," Goldberg said. "Medicare's current failure to pay for coordinated care for people with Alzheimer's disease drives up costs to a level three times higher than for other beneficiaries, a financial burden that will prove unbearable as millions of baby boomers reach the age of maximum risk for Alzheimer's."

"Congress needs to preserve the underlying principle of the Medicare program - providing universal medical care for all seniors and people with disabilities," said Goldberg. "If that principle means anything, it has to include essential prescription drugs, and it has to work for people with one of the most devastating diseases affecting millions of Americans - Alzheimer's disease."

The Alzheimer's Association is the world leader in Alzheimer research and support. Through our national network of advocates and chapters, we advance research, improve services and care, create awareness of Alzheimer's disease and mobilize support. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer's disease. For more information on the Alzheimer's Association, visit http://www.alz.org.