Seniors Access To Prescription Drug Benefits

Witnesses: David M. Walker, Comptroller General, U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO); Theodore Roth, Alliance Pharmaceutical, & California Healthcare Institute; Beatrice Braun, M.D., American Association of Retired Persons (AARP); John E. Calfee, American Enterprise Institute; Alan Sager, Boston Univ. School of Public Health; & Stephen B. Soumerai, Harvard Medical School, & Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. Submission for the Record by: Michael F. Ouellette, TREA Senior Citizens League, Alexandria, VA.

On October 25,1999, the President directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study prescription drug costs and trends for Medicare beneficiaries. He asked that the study investigate: price differences for the most commonly used drugs for people with and without coverage; drug spending by people of various ages, as a percentage of income and of total health spending; and trends in drug expenditures by people of different ages, as a percentage of income and of total health spending. This report is the Department's response to that request. It represents the work of individuals and agencies throughout the Department, including the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE).