Today the President signed into law the historic Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, which will help to create a modern Medicare system, allow for the biggest improvements in senior health care in nearly 40 years, and provide seniors with prescription drug benefits and more choices in health care.
Full Answer
What is the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003?
Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act. It produced the largest overhaul of Medicare in the public health program's 38-year history. The MMA was signed by President George W. Bush on December 8, 2003, after passing in Congress by a close margin.
What is Title 1 of the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement Act 2003?
Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 - Title I: Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (Sec. 101) Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program).
What is the legislative history of Medicare?
Legislative history. The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, also called the Medicare Modernization Act or MMA, is a federal law of the United States, enacted in 2003.
What is the largest overhaul of Medicare in 38-year history?
It produced the largest overhaul of Medicare in the public health program's 38-year history. The MMA was signed by President George W. Bush on December 8, 2003, after passing in Congress by a close margin.
What items were reduced in the 2005 Medicare payment?
Provides that for 2005 the payment amount for certain items, oxygen and oxygen equipment, standard wheelchairs, nebulizers, diabetic lancets and testing strips, hospital beds and air mattresses, will be reduced.
What is the federal income tax rate for 2004?
Provides that starting April 1, 2004 through September 30, 2004, payment will be based on a 62.5 percent Federal amount and a 37.5 percent local amount, and that starting October 1, 2004, payment will be based on a 75 percent Federal amount and a 25 percent local amount.
What is a FEHBP?
Requires the Secretary to apply such coordination requirements to described Rx plans, which include Medicaid programs and group health plans and the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP), in the same manner as such requirements apply to a State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program.
When was Medicare Modernization Act enacted?
Signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 8, 2003. The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, also called the Medicare Modernization Act or MMA, is a federal law of the United States, enacted in 2003. It produced the largest overhaul of Medicare in the public health program's 38-year history.
When did Medicare Advantage start?
Medicare Advantage plans. With the passage of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Medicare beneficiaries were given the option to receive their Medicare benefits through private health insurance plans, instead of through the Original Medicare plan (Parts A and B).
What is Medicare Part D?
Main article: Medicare Part D. The MMA's most touted feature is the introduction of an entitlement benefit for prescription drugs, through tax breaks and subsidies. In the years since Medicare's creation in 1965, the role of prescription drugs in patient care has significantly increased.
What is the "donut hole" in Medicare?
The "donut hole" provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was an attempt to correct the issue.
How many Americans were enrolled in HSAs in the first 10 years?
After the first 10 years over 12 million Americans were enrolled in HSAs (AHIP;EBRI).
How much did the stimulus program cost in 2015?
One month after passage, the administration estimated that the net cost of the program over the period between 2006 (the first year the program started paying benefits) and 2015 would be $534 billion. As of February 2009, the projected net cost of the program over the 2006 to 2015 period was $549.2 billion.
Who was the chief architect of Medicare?
According to the New York Times December 17, 2004 editorial W.J."Billy" Tauzin, the Louisiana Republican who chaired the Energy and Commerce Committee from 2001 until February 4, 2004 was one of the chief architects of the new Medicare law. In 2004 Tauzin was appointed as chief lobbyist for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the trade association and lobby group for the drug industry with a "rumored salary of $2 million a year," drawing criticism from Public Citizen, the consumer advocacy group. They claimed that Tauzin "may have been negotiating for the lobbying job while writing the Medicare legislation." Tauzin was responsible for including a provision that prohibited Medicare from negotiating prices with drug companies.
Who is the President of the United States who congratulated on Medicare reform?
President Bush: 'Giving older Americans better choices'. President Bush is congratulated after signing the Medicare reform legislation on Monday at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington. Watch CNN's "Larry King Live" for an interview with first lady Laura Bush at 9 p.m. EST Monday.
How much is the Medicare Modernization Act?
Backers say the $400 billion Medicare Prescription Drug Modernization Act will provide much-needed help for the nation's 40 million senior citizens to buy medications; critics say it is a giveaway to drug makers and insurance companies and a prelude to the dismantling of the program.
What is Medicare reform?
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Monday signed into law landmark Medicare reform legislation that includes prescription drug benefits and has sparked a bitter fight between opponents and supporters.
Who supported the lapse in the Drugs Act?
Dianne Feinstein, D-California, who supported the bill, said the lapse was a "major weakness in this bill.". "The theory is that private sector competition will drive down the cost of drugs," Feinstein said last month upon the bill's passage. "That may happen, or it may not happen. We need to watch that, and we will.
How long was the House vote on the stimulus bill?
Last month, the House passed the measure after Bush made late-night, last-minute phone calls asking members to support it. An unusually long three-hour vote was ended by GOP leaders at 6 a.m., after a 218 to 216 deficit flipped to a 220 to 215 victory.
What is the Medicare Modernization Act?
This article also probes whether or not the bill has been successful in meeting the needs of the elderly population to gain secure access to affordable prescription medicine as well as helping the federal government lower its spending. Based on available literature, the Modernization Act has a limited advantage to the people it seeks to serve, while giving private companies more money and business. The Medicare Modernization Act fails to answer the needs of the elderly population to have better access to prescription drug because. While it offers more services and benefits, the MMA does not answer the problem on cost related to medication.
Does Medicare cover disabled people?
The program also covers people under 65 years old who are disabled and are not capable of holding employment. Traditionally, the Medicare provides hospitalization and medical insurance to the elderly [1]. Later amendments allowed an individual to enhance the services by integrating a private health plan into Medicare for an additional cost.
Is Medicare Modernization Act a failure?
Those who believe that the Medicare Modernization Act is a failure have based their arguments on some points. For one, Medicare users can’t avail of the drug prescription benefit without getting involved with private health insurers and paying for monthly premiums. While this is not an issue for some, there are elderly people whose monthly stipends are meager. They could not afford the premiums. Although the MMA provides that this type of people can be accommodated and given prescription drugs for free, the question would lie on what type of drugs would they get, given that they are not paying for them? This would also imply that the MMA becomes discriminatory based on income. Those who can afford to pay get more, while those who cannot get less. This beats the very essence of Medicare being a social program.
What is the President's action on Medicare?
Today the President signed into law the historic Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, which will help to create a modern Medicare system, allow for the biggest improvements in senior health care in nearly 40 years, and provide seniors with prescription drug benefits ...
How many seniors are covered by Medicare?
For the first time in Medicare's history, a prescription drug benefit will be offered to all 40 million seniors and disabled Americans in Medicare to help them afford the cost of their medicines.
How much money would a senior save with no drug coverage?
Seniors with no drug coverage and monthly drug costs of $200 would save more than $1,700 on drug costs each year. Seniors with no drug coverage and monthly drug costs of $800 would save nearly $5,900 on drug costs each year.
How much does Medicare cover for seniors?
Seniors would be protected again high out-of-pocket costs with Medicare covering 95% of drug costs over $3,600 per year. Low-income seniors will receive additional help paying for their medicines. A $600 annual subsidy would be added to their drug discount card.
What percentage of Medicare subsidy is required by the Trustees?
For the first time ever, the legislation will require the Medicare Trustees to analyze the combined fiscal status of the Medicare Trust Funds and warn Congress and the President when Medicare's general fund subsidy exceeds 45 percent.
Can seniors get Medicare?
Seniors can choose to stay in traditional Medicare and still get prescription drug coverage. Or, they can choose a new Medicare-approved private plan where the drug benefit is integrated into broader medical coverage, including disease management programs and protections against high out-of-pocket medical spending.
When did Medicare expand?
Over the years, Congress has made changes to Medicare: More people have become eligible. For example, in 1972 , Medicare was expanded to cover the disabled, people with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring dialysis or kidney transplant, and people 65 or older that select Medicare coverage.
How long has Medicare and Medicaid been around?
Medicare & Medicaid: keeping us healthy for 50 years. On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law legislation that established the Medicare and Medicaid programs. For 50 years, these programs have been protecting the health and well-being of millions of American families, saving lives, and improving the economic security ...
What is the Affordable Care Act?
The 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) brought the Health Insurance Marketplace, a single place where consumers can apply for and enroll in private health insurance plans. It also made new ways for us to design and test how to pay for and deliver health care.
When was the Children's Health Insurance Program created?
The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was created in 1997 to give health insurance and preventive care to nearly 11 million, or 1 in 7, uninsured American children. Many of these children came from uninsured working families that earned too much to be eligible for Medicaid.
What is Medicare Part D?
Medicare Part D Prescription Drug benefit. The Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) made the biggest changes to the Medicare in the program in 38 years. Under the MMA, private health plans approved by Medicare became known as Medicare Advantage Plans.
Overview
Legislative history
According to the New York Times December 17, 2004 editorial W.J."Billy" Tauzin, the Louisiana Republican who chaired the Energy and Commerce Committee from 2001 until February 4, 2004 was one of the chief architects of the new Medicare law. In 2004 Tauzin was appointed as chief lobbyist for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the trade association and lobby group for the drug industry with a "rumored salary of $2 million a year," dr…
Prescription drug benefits
The MMA's most touted feature is the introduction of an entitlement benefit for prescription drugs, through tax breaks and subsidies.
In the years since Medicare's creation in 1965, the role of prescription drugs in patient care has significantly increased. As new and expensive drugs have come into use, patients, particularly senior citizens at whom Medicare was targeted, have found prescriptions harder to afford. The …
Medicare Advantage plans
With the passage of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Medicare beneficiaries were given the option to receive their Medicare benefits through private health insurance plans, instead of through the Original Medicare plan (Parts A and B). These programs were known as "Medicare+Choice" or "Part C" plans. Pursuant to the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, the compensation and business practices for insurers that offer these plans changed, a…
Health savings accounts
The MMA created a new Health Savings Account statute that replaced and expanded the previous Medical Savings Account law by expanding allowable contributions and employer participation. After the first 10 years over 12 million Americans were enrolled in HSAs (AHIP;EBRI).
Other provisions
While nearly all agreed that some form of prescription drug benefit would be included, other provisions were the subject of prolonged debate in Congress. The complex legislation also changed Medicare in the following ways:
• it mandated a six-city trial of a partly privatized Medicare system (by 2010)
• it gave an extra $25 billion to rural hospitals (at the request of congressional representatives in the rural West)
Costs
Initially, the net cost of the program was projected at $400 billion for the ten-year period between 2004 and 2013. Administration official Thomas Scully instructed analyst Richard Foster not to tell Congress of Foster's finding that the cost would actually be over $500 billion. One month after passage, the administration estimated that the net cost of the program over the period between 2006 (the first year the program started paying benefits) and 2015 would be $534 billion. As of F…
Bar to negotiation of prescription drug prices
Since the enactment of Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act in 2003, only insurance companies administering Medicare prescription drug program, not Medicare, have the legal right to negotiate drug prices directly from drug manufacturers. The Medicare Prescription Drug Act expressly prohibited Medicare from negotiating bulk prescription drug prices. The "donut hole" provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was an attem…