Changes to Medicare Part D Drug Benefit Program are Critical to Protect Elderly and Disabled Women

As the nation's leading independent, nonprofit health information source for women, HealthyWomen urges Congress to make important changes to the Medicare Part D drug benefit program to protect millions of elderly and disabled women, and to ensure the long-term viability of this benefit. Changes should be made both to avoid the so-called "cliff" (that will increase costs for people relying on Medicare Part D by $1,500 per year starting in 2020), and to fix the misaligned incentives created in the Budget Bill earlier this year (that will increase costs for patients and may destabilize the very popular Part D program). Recognizing that 155 Republicans and 50 Democrats have signed onto letters urging those changes, and that companies which provide Part D plans need adequate time to plan for 2019 and 2020, we urge Congress to act this year – and sooner rather than later – on those changes since they have broad Congressional support and would help maintain the Part D prescription drug benefit program which gets very high satisfaction ratings from Medicare enrollees.