Email from Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, DSCC...
Fix it NowAmerica's seniors deserve a prescription drug benefit that gives them more than just a headache. I've heard from countless senior citizens across the country that the new Medicare prescription drug benefit isn't working. The countless plans available are endlessly confusing. Seniors are given information that contradicts itself. Those who are supposed to help navigate the maze of options are overworked to the point of exhaustion. It's yet another example of the Bush administration's incompetence in performing the basic tasks of government.
Yet Senate Republicans refuse to take action to fix the system. Last week, they rejected a proposal by Sen. Bill Nelson from Florida to give seniors an additional seven months to work through the confusion and decide on the plan they want.
The only way we'll convince George Bush and his Republican allies in the Senate to make the necessary changes in their Medicare prescription drug plan is to show them the outrage that exists in the grassroots. In 1965, Americans from all walks of life rose up to demand that the government act to protect seniors from the high costs of the health care they need to survive. It took a grassroots movement then to create the original Medicare, and it will take a grassroots movement now to fix the mess that Republicans in Washington have made of the prescription drug benefit. We need you today. Join the campaign.
http://action.dscc.org/campaign/20060207_medicare_aIf we do not act, millions of vulnerable seniors will lose the prescription drugs they desperately need. We've all heard the horror stories.
One woman from Massachusetts told me that she called the Medicare Help Line three different times with questions about enrollment - and received three different answers. Some seniors who already have drug coverage are being told to sign up for a new plan, only to learn that by doing so, they lose their existing coverage.
Worse, because the Bush administration failed to adequately prepare for the transition, thousands of seniors who thought they would be automatically enrolled in the new program have shown up at the pharmacy counter, only to be told they aren't "in the system."
If a senior citizen follows all the rules and is still denied health care, the Bush administration must be held accountable. It's not rocket science. Basic practices like adequate planning and adequate testing could clearly have avoided these problems, but the administration spent all its time fine-tuning the program to be sure the pharmaceutical industry was satisfied, and the public was ignored.
Senate Democrats need your help to convince Republicans in Washington to take action. Please join the grassroots campaign to fix Medicare today.
http://action.dscc.org/campaign/20060207_medicare_aThe high cost of prescription drugs hurts our seniors more than any other segment of the population. That's why Senate Democrats have been working for years to add prescription drug benefits to Medicare, the government program responsible for making health care affordable for seniors. Instead, Republicans in Congress joined the Bush administration in treating Medicare as just another way to create multi-million dollar giveaways for their special interest cronies.
Senate Democrats have a plan to clean up this mess. First and foremost, we have to make sure no one is denied the drugs they need. We also must guarantee that seniors struggling to make sense of all the different plans and options have the help they need. These simple reforms will make an immediate difference for millions of vulnerable American citizens who are at risk right now.
Tell George Bush and the Senate Republicans it's time to clean up their mess. Please join our campaign today.
Best wishes, and thank you for your strong support!
Ted Kennedy
DU, please, it's time, once again, to speak out for the least of these. Thanks!
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