US Medicare Rx "might hit other benefits"

A US Senate panel has heard that providing seniors with prescriptiondrug coverage under Medicare could mean them losing the drug benefits which currently provided under their retirement or state plans.

Health consultant Steven Coppock told a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee that one in five companies that provide prescription drug benefits for retirees say they would stop doing so if Medicare were to include such a benefit, reports Reuters. The other companies say they would count on sharing the prescription drug bill for insured seniors with the federal government, he said, adding that he would imagine that some would regard this an an opportunity to exit the business.

Ray Scheppach, executive director of the National Governors Association, told the hearing that the states have shouldered much of these costs for years through Medicaid and state assistance programs. "If a universal benefit is created within the Medicare program, it must truly be a federal benefit," he added.