Benefits for rural health

By Alan Morgan

I'm here today to urge my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats who represent states like mine, to understand that this (Medicare Bill) is the best thing rural America has ever seen. -- U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa

As the dust settles and the Bush administration begins the process of implementing the new Medicare plan that includes prescription drug coverage for seniors, rural America needs be aware of the many positive benefits the new program will bring directly to them.

Perhaps the most significant component for rural communities is the more than $20 billion dollars that has been allocated specifically to boost Medicare payments for rural doctors and hospitals. Most rural Americans are unaware that, although we all contribute dollars into the Medicare program, rural America gets back less than its urban counterparts. In effect, rural Americans are subsidizing urban care.

The new dollars going to rural America through the Medicare bill are crucial to maintaining proper health-care facilities and providers for seniors and other members of underserved areas. This legislation is a critical first step in bringing Medicare in rural America on par with urban and suburban areas.

Equally important, Medicare will now be offering a prescription drug benefit to all seniors. This is particularly good news for seniors in rural states. Although nearly 70 percent of urban seniors have some form of prescription-drug coverage, nearly half of all rural seniors have no form of coverage at all.

Add to that problem the fact that rural seniors spend about 25 percent more out of pocket on prescription drugs (according to the Center for American Progress), and the result is a tremendous disadvantage that rural seniors have been suffering compared to seniors in non-rural areas in getting access to life-saving and life-improving cures.

This new prescription drug benefit is voluntary, and Medicare beneficiaries who wish to obtain this coverage will be allowed to choose a plan that best suits their personal needs. This allows for flexibility, but seniors will still save an average of 50 percent on their out-of-pocket drug costs.

And low-income seniors (up to 135 percent of the poverty level, or roughly $17,600 for a married couple) in rural states will have nearly all their prescription drug expenses paid. They will only be responsible for a nominal co-pay of $1 to $5 per prescription.

For the rural seniors who are struggling to make ends meet, this will make a world of difference. The administration has stated that it will work quickly to implement this new program, with a schedule to provide full benefits by 2006.

To help bridge the gap between today and 2006, seniors (starting in June) will have access to a discount card for prescription drugs. This discount card will be particularly beneficial to rural seniors who have no prescription drug coverage.

Additionally, low-income seniors, especially those in rural areas, will be given $600 a year in 2004 and 2005 to use in conjunction with the card. From a rural perspective, this Medicare plan certainly puts America on the right path to addressing the health care needs of our rural citizens.

For too long rural seniors have had to shoulder a disproportionate share of health care costs. But the new Medicare bill will greatly lighten that burden and help provide individuals and communities in rural states with the health benefits and services they desperately need.

Alan Morgan is vice president for government affairs and policy at the National Rural Health Association in Kansas City, Mo.