<nobr>Sep 22, 2005</nobr>

ERIC Asks Influential Members of Congress to Maintain Medicare Part D Implementation Schedule

Washington, D.C. – September 22, 2005 – The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) today sent a letter to select members of Congress strongly urging them to maintain the January 2006 implementation date of the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug program.

“Employers have invested considerable energy and resources in reliance that the program will go forward as planned,” Mark J. Ugoretz, president of ERIC, stated in the letter. “Delaying or derailing implementation would be costly and seriously undermine confidence in the government’s commitment to the benefit and to employers’ retiree health care programs. Although offsetting the expenses involved in hurricane relief is an important cause, the prescription drug program is not expendable and cannot be delayed.”

The letter was sent to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means Bill Thomas (R-CA), Chairman of the House Budget Committee Jim Nussle (R-IA), Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Commerce Joe Barton (R-TX), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee Judd Gregg (R-NH), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Charles Grassley (R-IA), Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), House Committee on Ways and Means Ranking Member Charles Rangel (D-NY), and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Max Baucus (D-MT).

The Medicare Part D Prescription Drug program is a component of the 2003 Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act (MMA), which established the prescription drug program for Medicare-eligible seniors. The program also works through employers who provide retiree health care by providing them a subsidy that covers much of what they pay for their retirees’ prescriptions, or employers can provide their own prescription drug plans and be reimbursed through the MMA.

“America’s major employers worked with the government to develop a sound and affordable program to which we are committed,” stated Ugoretz. “We strongly urge that the Medicare Prescription Drug program move forward as planned.”


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ERIC is a non-profit association committed to and represents exclusively the advancement of the employee retirement, health, and compensation plans of America’s largest employers. ERIC’s members provide benchmark retirement, health care coverage, compensation and other economic security benefits directly to tens of millions of active and retired workers and their families. ERIC has a strong interest in proposals affecting its members’ ability to deliver those benefits, their cost and their effectiveness, as well as the role of those benefits in the American economy.

For additional information please contact:

Brendan LaCivita, Director of Communications
blacivita@eric.org

Websites:

ERIC Letter to Congress - Stay the Course with Medicare Part D

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