{
  "id": "RL31316",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
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      "id": 101119,
      "date": "2003-02-07",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-08T14:53:39.097544",
      "title": "President Bush's Proposed Medicare-Endorsed Drug Discount Card Initiative: Status and Issues",
      "summary": "On July 12, 2001, President Bush announced a Medicare-endorsed prescription drug discount\ncard\nprogram to help seniors lower their out-of-pocket drug costs. The President stated that the discount\ncard program would be an interim measure until a broader Medicare prescription drug benefit for\nseniors can be created. Many seniors do not have adequate prescription drug coverage. In 1998, an\nestimated 10 million elderly people, or 27% of Medicare beneficiaries, did not have any form of\nprescription drug coverage. \n  The Administration planned to implement the card program in January 2002, but it was put on\nhold because of a federal court order. Pharmacy groups successfully filed a lawsuit against CMS in\n2001, asking a federal court to issue an injunction that would halt the card program on the grounds\nthat the Administration had no statutory authority to establish the program. The Administration\nproceeded with plans to modify the program and use a formal rulemaking process for a new\nproposal. On August 30, 2002, CMS issued the final rule. Pharmacies continued to claim that the\nAdministration lacked the statutory authority to implement the initiative. On January 29, 2003, a\nfederal district court ruled that the Administration did not have the statutory authority to offer the\ncard program. CMS issued a statement saying that it would be evaluating its options and it would\nlikely appeal. In the 108th Congress, Representative Mark Foley introduced a bill ( H.R. 513 ) in the House on January 31, 2003 to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to\nendorse prescription drug discount cards for use by Medicare beneficiaries.\n  The proposed card program would be similar to prescription drug discount card programs that\nare currently available from a number of sources. The Administration's card would endorse and\npromote a number of qualified privately-administered prescription drug discount card plans which\nwould have a one-time maximum enrollment rate of $25 per plan. Since the announcement of\nPresident Bush's proposal, several pharmaceutical companies have implemented their own senior\ndiscount card plans for low-income seniors beginning in early 2002. \n  \n  The Administration has stated that the Medicare-endorsed card plans would offer discounts in\nthe range of 10% to 13%, and up to 15%, on retail prescription drug prices. The net overall effects\nof President Bush's proposed program would depend on the details of the individual card plans,\nwhich are not yet available. Congressional critics of President Bush's proposal dispute the\nAdministration's estimates of potential discounts. Some Members of Congress believe that the card\nprogram would not provide additional benefits for seniors. They cite a recent study by the U.S.\nGeneral Accounting Office (GAO) on prescription drug discount prices available at retail\npharmacies, Internet pharmacies, and existing drug discount card programs. The Members believe\nthat the study indicates that seniors already have access to drug discount cards and that these\nprograms offer little savings for seniors. \n This report will be updated as events warrant.",
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    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs2331/",
      "id": "RL31316 2002-10-08",
      "date": "2002-10-08",
      "retrieved": "2005-06-11T00:22:01",
      "title": "President Bush's Proposed Medicare-Endorsed Drug Discount Card Initiative: Status and Issues",
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          "id": "Consumers",
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      "id": "RL31316 2002-06-20",
      "date": "2002-06-20",
      "retrieved": "2005-06-11T00:21:38",
      "title": "President Bush's Proposed Medicare-Endorsed Drug Discount Card Initiative: Status and Issues",
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