- The discussion above focuses on the savings that seniors will obtain once the full Medicare drug benefit is available. But the bill would generate other benefits as well and would not make seniors wait until 2005 to begin getting help with their drug costs.
- Beneficiaries will also see substantial health gains under the House plan. Not only will they gain more affordable access to the medicines they need, but the legislation also ensures the use of electronic prescribing – which should sharply reduce the substantial number of prescribing errors that occur each year. In addition, beneficiaries’ health will be protected – and unnecessary health costs avoided – though disease management programs and the use of automated systems to identify and thus prevent potentially adverse drug interactions.
- The Institute of Medicine has estimated that as many as 98,000 Americans may die each year due to medical errors, with most of these deaths attributable to medication errors. A recent article estimated that, for the country as a whole, the direct costs of preventable drug-related mortality and morbidity exceed $175 billion per year, with drug related hospital admissions accounting for the majority of these costs.
- Finally, under the House Republican plan, seniors would also benefit immediately from discounts of 15 percent or more on their drug purchases through a Medicare-endorsed discount card program – so they will not have to wait until 2005 before they get any help with their drug costs.
Table 1.
Estimated Number of Beneficiaries in Each State Eligible for Reduced Premiums
and Cost-Sharing Under House Republican Medicare Bill (and Resulting State Medicaid Savings)
CSV| State | Number of Medicare Beneficiaries (000s) | Number Below 150% of Poverty (000s) | Share Below 150% of Poverty | Number Below 175% of Poverty (000s) | Share Below 175% of Poverty | State Medicaid Savings 2005-12 ($Millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 677 | 332 | 49% | 376 | 56% | 448 |
| Alaska | 40 | 13 | 33% | 14 | 35% | 66 |
| Arizona | 658 | 192 | 29% | 237 | 36% | 727 |
| Arkansas | 436 | 208 | 48% | 239 | 55% | 299 |
| California | 3,837 | 1,516 | 40% | 1,664 | 43% | 5,104 |
| Colorado | 458 | 129 | 28% | 158 | 34% | 366 |
| Connecticut | 512 | 181 | 35% | 210 | 41% | 729 |
| District of Columbia | 76 | 33 | 43% | 37 | 49% | 60 |
| Delaware | 110 | 31 | 28% | 43 | 39% | 77 |
| Florida | 2,771 | 1,019 | 37% | 1,168 | 42% | 3,198 |
| Georgia | 898 | 370 | 41% | 410 | 46% | 856 |
| Hawaii | 162 | 56 | 35% | 58 | 36% | 121 |
| Idaho | 161 | 52 | 32% | 63 | 39% | 86 |
| Illinois | 1,629 | 459 | 28% | 549 | 34% | 1,902 |
| Indiana | 845 | 289 | 34% | 335 | 40% | 82 |
| Iowa | 476 | 149 | 31% | 174 | 37% | 337 |
| Kansas | 389 | 124 | 32% | 138 | 35% | 330 |
| Kentucky | 615 | 267 | 43% | 306 | 50% | 549 |
| Louisiana | 597 | 289 | 48% | 311 | 52% | 686 |
| Maine | 213 | 75 | 35% | 84 | 39% | 235 |
| Maryland | 635 | 279 | 44% | 301 | 47% | 572 |
| Massachusetts | 954 | 310 | 32% | 367 | 38% | 1,592 |
| Michigan | 1,389 | 462 | 33% | 538 | 39% | 1,176 |
| Minnesota | 648 | 252 | 39% | 261 | 40% | 586 |
| Mississippi | 414 | 229 | 55% | 254 | 61% | 419 |
| Missouri | 854 | 278 | 33% | 314 | 37% | 1,064 |
| Montana | 135 | 42 | 31% | 50 | 37% | 71 |
| Nebraska | 252 | 90 | 36% | 99 | 39% | 243 |
| Nevada | 229 | 90 | 39% | 107 | 47% | 96 |
| New Hampshire | 167 | 54 | 32% | 63 | 38% | 188 |
| New Jersey | 1,195 | 445 | 37% | 517 | 43% | 1,511 |
| New Mexico | 229 | 139 | 61% | 146 | 64% | 87 |
| New York | 2,694 | 1,215 | 45% | 1,372 | 51% | 4,496 |
| North Carolina | 1,111 | 526 | 47% | 573 | 52% | 1,171 |
| North Dakota | 103 | 51 | 50% | 60 | 58% | 62 |
| Ohio | 1,692 | 544 | 32% | 649 | 38% | 1,834 |
| Oklahoma | 504 | 208 | 41% | 247 | 49% | 76 |
| Oregon | 484 | 143 | 30% | 169 | 35% | 1,250 |
| Pennsylvania | 2,088 | 668 | 32% | 819 | 39% | 1,436 |
| Rhode Island | 170 | 74 | 44% | 84 | 49% | 215 |
| South Carolina | 555 | 257 | 46% | 303 | 55% | 395 |
| South Dakota | 119 | 38 | 32% | 45 | 38% | 78 |
| Tennessee | 815 | 326 | 40% | 368 | 45% | 565 |
| Texas | 2,223 | 1,070 | 48% | 1,227 | 55% | 1,994 |
| Utah | 201 | 53 | 26% | 72 | 36% | 91 |
| Vermont | 88 | 37 | 42% | 41 | 47% | 124 |
| Virginia | 876 | 343 | 39% | 398 | 45% | 983 |
| Washington | 725 | 254 | 35% | 291 | 40% | 797 |
| West Virginia | 336 | 148 | 44% | 169 | 50% | 162 |
| Wisconsin | 777 | 194 | 25% | 239 | 31% | 830 |
| Wyoming | 64 | 24 | 38% | 29 | 45% | 38 |
| United States | 38,286 | 14,627 | 38% | 16,746 | 44% | 40,459 |
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