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Home » Media & Us » Working for Elders
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The Honorable Tom Daschle
Democratic Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
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The Honorable Trent Lott
Republican Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
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Dear Democratic Leader Daschle and Republican Leader Lott:
We are writing to encourage you to work with the leadership of the House of Representatives to ensure enactment of legislation that will improve Medicare and provide beneficiaries with the quality health-care they deserve.
We would all prefer that Congress modernize Medicare and add a prescription-drug benefit. Unfortunately, the Congress has been unable to reach a consensus on this important issue. But we should not let this failure stop us from writing other, necessary Medicare legislation. As you know, the start of the fiscal year on October 1 brought a number of reductions in reimbursements to Medicare providers. Additionally, other cuts will occur within the next few months unless Congress acts quickly to alleviate them. These reductions could result in Medicare beneficiaries being unable to find quality health-care providers. Therefore, it is vitally important that Congress restore reimbursement levels so that Medicare beneficiaries continue to have access to the services they need.
We need only look back to the year 2000 to find a model for enacting such legislation. At that time, the Congress faced a situation very much like what we now face. Ultimately, Congressional Leadership asked select House members to meet with select Senators to negotiate a compromise. After negotiations between the House and Senate and administration, the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvements and Protection Act was incorporated in H.R. 4577, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2001, which passed Congress and was signed into law on December 21, 2000.
We urge you to ask the House Leadership to initiate similar House-Senate meetings so that legislation can be developed and acted on, either on its own or as part of another vehicle, as Congress did back in 2000.
Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to seeing progress on this matter.
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