Hi Phil and All,
I have been too busy for e-mail for several days and am trying
to catch up today....

Here are some important sites for info on pending legislation...

U.S. Congress on the Internet
http://thomas.loc.gov/

Keeping America Informed - U.S. Govt. Printing Office
http://www.access.gpo.gov/index.html#info

Official Federal Government Information at Your Fingertips
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/index.html

The 106th. Congress left many bills "hanging",,,

Medicare to Pay for Prescription Drugs
H.R. 1495 - (Access to Prescription Medications in Medicare Act)
...to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage
of outpatient prescription drugs under the Medicare Program.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d106:HR01495:@@@P

S. 841 - (Access to Rx Medications in Medicare Act)
...to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage
of outpatient prescription drugs under the medicare program.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d106:s.00841:

Search on the Thomas site...
50 Bills from the 106th Congress ranked by relevance on"prescription".
Listing of 50 bills containing your phrase exactly as entered.

1 . Prescription Drug Benefit Equity Act of 1999 (Introduced in the House)[H.R.3319.IH]

2 . Voluntary Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Act of 2000 (Introduced in the Senate)[S.2319.IS]

3 . Medicare Beneficiary Prescription Drug Assistance and Stop-Loss Protection Act of 1999
(Introduced in the House)[H.R.2925.IH]

4 . Medicare Temporary Drug Assistance Act (Introduced in the Senate)[S.3017.IS]

5 . Medicare Beneficiary Prescription Drug Assistance and Stop-Loss Protection Act of 2000
(Introduced in the House)[H.R.5151.IH]

6 . Medicare Temporary Drug Assistance Act (Introduced in the Senate)[S.3016.IS]

7 . Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act of 2000 (Introduced in the Senate)[S.2807.IS]

8 . To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to enhance consumer protection in the
purchase of prescription drugs from interstate Internet sellers. (Introduced in the
House)[H.R.5476.IH]

9 . To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to enhance consumer protection in the
purchase of prescription drugs from interstate Internet sellers. (Introduced in the Senate)[S.3208.IS]

10 . Expressing the sense of Congress that urgent action is needed to limit the hardship endured by
senior citizens when meeting their prescription drug needs. (Introduced in the
House)[H.CON.RES.152.IH]

11 . Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage Act of 1999 (Introduced in the Senate)[S.696.IS]

12 . Medicare Chronic Disease Prescription Drug Benefit Act of 1999 (Introduced in the
House)[H.R.1796.IH]

13 . Medicare Rx 2000 Act (Introduced in the House)[H.R.4680.IH]

14 . Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage Act of 1999 (Introduced in the House)[H.R.886.IH]

15 . Medicare Prescription Drug Act of 2000 (Introduced in the House)[H.R.4607.IH]

16 . Medicare Rx 2000 Act (Reported in the House)[H.R.4680.RH]

17 . Expressing the sense of Congress that access to affordable prescription drugs is critical to the
quality of life of older Americans and that coverage for prescription drugs should be... (Introduced in
the House)[H.CON.RES.149.IH]

18 . Medicare Rx 2000 Act (Engrossed in House )[H.R.4680.EH]

19 . Medicare Rx 2000 Act (Placed on the Calendar in the Senate)[H.R.4680.PCS]

20 . Breast Cancer Prescription Drug Fairness Act (Introduced in the House)[H.R.5467.IH]

21 . Medicare Expansion for Needed Drugs (MEND) Act of 2000 (Placed on the Calendar in the
Senate)[S.2753.PCS]

22 . Patients' Formulary Rights Act of 1999 (Introduced in the House)[H.R.3274.IH]

23 . Medicare Expansion for Needed Drugs (MEND) Act of 2000 (Introduced in the Senate)[S.2541.IS]

24 . Prescription Drug Fairness for Seniors Act of 1999 (Introduced in the Senate)[S.731.IS]

25 . Seniors' Health Care Restoration Act of 2000 (Introduced in the House)[H.R.5614.IH]

26 . Seniors' Security Act of 2000 (Introduced in the Senate)[S.2237.IS]

27 . Senior Prescription Drug Assistance Expansion Demonstration Act of 1999 (Introduced in the
House)[H.R.2375.IH]

28 . Prescription Drug Fairness Act (Introduced in the House)[H.R.4869.IH]

29 . Medicare Benefit Equity and Emergency Access to Prescription Drugs Act of 1999 (Introduced
in the House)[H.R.3086.IH]

30 . Save Money for Prescription Drug Research Act of 2000 (Introduced in the House)[H.R.4088.IH]

31 . Save Money for Prescription Drug Research Act of 2000 (Introduced in the House)[H.R.4089.IH]

32 . Prescription Drug Fairness Act (Introduced in the Senate)[S.2464.IS]

33 . Fair Balance Prescription Drug Advertisement Act of 2000 (Introduced in the
House)[H.R.4686.IH]

34 . Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the disparity between identical
prescription drugs sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. (Introduced in the
House)[H.RES.477.IH]

35 . To require the United States Trade Representative to enter into negotiations to eliminate price
controls imposed by certain foreign countries on prescription drugs. (Introduced in the
House)[H.R.4764.IH]

36 . New Insurance Coverage Equity (NICE) Act of 1999 (Introduced in the House)[H.R.3482.IH]

37 . To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a deduction for amounts paid for health
insurance and prescription drug costs of individuals. (Introduced in the House)[H.R.4472.IH]

38 . Prescription Drug Fairness for Seniors Act of 1999 (Introduced in the House)[H.R.664.IH]

39 . To require the United States Trade Representative to enter into negotiations to eliminate price
controls imposed by certain foreign countries on prescription drugs. (Introduced in the
Senate)[S.2466.IS]

40 . Internet Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act (Introduced in the House)[H.R.2763.IH]

41 . Medical Use of Marijuana Act (Introduced in the House)[H.R.912.IH]

42 . Medicare Low-Income Prescription Drug Assistance Act of 2000 (Introduced in the
House)[H.R.4235.IH]

43 . Medicare Rx Drug Discount and Security Act of 2000 (Introduced in the Senate)[S.2836.IS]

44 . Making Affordable Prescriptions Available for Seniors Act (Introduced in the House)[H.R.723.IH]

45 . Seniors Prescription Insurance Coverage Equity (SPICE) Act of 1999 (Introduced in the
Senate)[S.1480.IS]

46 . Seniors Prescription Insurance Coverage Equity (SPICE) Act of 1999 (Introduced in the
House)[H.R.2782.IH]

47 . To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose a discriminatory profits tax on
pharmaceutical companies which charge prices for prescription drugs to domestic wholesale
distributors... (Introduced in the Senate)[S.3103.IS]

48 . Medicare Prescription Drug Internet Access and Safe Importation Act of 2000 (Introduced in the
House)[H.R.5142.IH]

49 . To provide for the non-preemption of State prescription drug benefit laws in connection with
Medicare+Choice plans. (Introduced in the Senate)[S.378.IS]

50 . Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Medicare beneficiaries should have
access to outpatient prescription drug coverage. (Introduced in the House)[H.RES.435.IH]

You're right Phil...  How do we make any sensible recommendations?

Best regards ........ murray


On 3 Dec 2000, at 11:38, Phil Tompkins wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> It's wonderful Sandy that you are taking initiative on this important
> legislation.  And the sample letter makes the letter writing task
> easier for all of us. I have some questions.
>
> Unfortunately, I have not kept up on prescription drug legislation.
> So I went to the Congressional web site http://thomas.loc.gov and
> searched on "prescription drug". I found oodles of different bills
> related to prescription drug plans in various stages of the legislative
> process.   I thoht, how do we tell which are better and which to
> support? I can't read, understand, and compare all these bills, so I
> started to look for someone else who might. I found strong opinions
> pro or con:
>
> The Consumers Union is quite down on HR 4680 (the House
> version of S2807?), saying it "fails to assure affordable,
> comprehensive prescription drug coverage for all Medicare
> beneficiaries. It lacks public accountability, and assures that there
> will be future special interest requests from insurers. It is destined
> to confuse consumers and to lead to a complicated marketplace
> with incentives for cherry-picking the healthy. It fails to guarantee
> fair prices for beneficiaries."  See
> http://www.consumersunion.org/health/hr4680dc600.htm
>
> I found a web site for Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, which
> compares
> 1. President's Proposed Prescription Drug Benefit
> 2. The Medicare Expansion for Needed Drugs (MEND) Act of 2000
> (S. 2541) Introduced by Democratic Senators Daschle, Moynehan
> and Kennedy.
> 3. The Republican bill H.R. 4680.
> According to the Bazelon Center, mental health advocacy groups
> "give qualified support to the White House and Democrats' plans
> but express grave concerns about the Republicans' proposal."
> See http://www.bazelon.org/600medicare.html for more.
>
> An organization called the Rural Policy Research Institute provides
> extensive detailed discussion of
> S.2753—"Medicare Expansion for Needed Drugs (MEND) Act of
> 2000" introduced 6/19/2000 by Daschle.
> S.2342—"Medicare Modernization Act of 2000" introduced 4/4/00
> by Moynihan on behalf of President Clinton, as modified by the mid-
> year budget review published by the Office of Management and
> Budget.
> S.2758—"Medicare Outpatient Drug Act of 2000" introduced
> 6/20/00 by Graham.
> H.R.4680—"Medicare Rx 2000 Act" introduced by Thomas and
> passed in the House on 6/28/00.
> S.2807—"The Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act
> of 2000" introduced 6/28/00 by Breaux.
> S.2836—"Medicare Rx Drug Discount and Security Act of 2000"
> introduced 6/30/00 by Hagel.
> It's a lot of detail, perhaps too much.
> See http://www.rupri.org/pubs/archive/reports/P2000-8/
>
> There are many other web sites of various organizations with
> recommendations on these bills, and probably Murray Charters will
> find them all for us. So now, in addition to the question of which
> bill(s) are best there is the question of how to evaluate the
> evaluators!
>
> I don't want to get all bogged down in detail, but before plunging in,
> I think we need to know which bill(s) will do the best job for us and
> the practical question of what is possible to get passed.   Should
> we support S2807/HR4680 because they are our best chance for
> anything at all, or try to pick the best bill and support that one, or
> what?
>
> Phil Tompkins
> Amherst, Mass
> age 62/dx 1990


[log in to unmask]