WASHINGTON, June 6 (UPI) -- A bipartisan agreement on a $400 billion boost to Medicare would offer drug benefits to all seniors, a report said Friday.
Thursday's agreement was hailed by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., a leader on health issues and by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., a physician who has made passage of Medicare legislation one of his central goals, the Washington Post reported.
The plan calls for subsidizing medication for Medicare recipients taken outside the hospital, paying half the cost of drugs, to as much as $3,450 a year, beginning in 2006. Patients would pay a $35 monthly premium and a $275 annual deductible.
At the same time, preferred provider organizations and other private plans would compete for Medicare contracts, offering more preventive care and other benefits than the program traditionally has covered.
Before the drug benefit takes effect, the government would offer temporary help through drug discount cards.
