Prescription Drug Coverage for Medicare Beneficiaries: A Side-by-Side Comparison
This document, prepared by Health Policy Alternatives, Inc., provides a side-by-side comparison of five major federal proposals under consideration to provide outpatient prescription drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries. It includes both a summary and a detailed comparison of the following major proposals: S. 357, The Medicare Preservation and Improvement Act of 2001 (Breaux/Frist I), S. 358, The Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act of 2001 (Breaux-Frist II), H.R. 4680, The Medicare Rx 2000 Act (passed by the House of Representatives on June 28, 2000), S. 10, The Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage Act of 2001 (Senator Daschle), and S. 1135, The Medicare Reform Act of 2001 (Senator Graham). Modeled on earlier side-by-side comparisons prepared for the Kaiser Family Foundation, this document summarizes the key provisions of leading proposals as part of the Foundation’s continuing effort to track the Medicare prescription drug debate.