Prescription Drug and Medicare Improvement Act of 2003

PRESCRIPTION DRUG AND MEDICARE IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2003

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from New York.

AMENDMENT NO. 1019

Mr. President, I have a statement I will give for the RECORD, but I also want to thank Senator Conrad for his work on the
self-injected biologics and the offering of this amendment tonight. I am delighted to be a cosponsor on this amendment. It is something I have worked on for over 2 years. And as Senator Conrad said, we have patients today with MS, with rheumatoid arthritis, who are forced to go to a doctor, a medical clinic in order to get the drugs they need.

This will save us money in the long run because people will be able to stay home. But, most importantly, it will allow people quality of life in the care they need. I thank Senator Conrad and Senator Smith and the other cosponsors of this amendment.

Mr. President, I am pleased to join with Senator CONRAD and Senator SMITH in offering this amendment to give those on Medicare access to a new, exciting group of drugs known as self-injected biologics.

Senator CONRAD offered a similar amendment during the Senate Finance Committee markup and received a commitment from the chair to work with us on this effort.

As a result of this commitment, Senator CONRAD withdrew the amendment. We have been working with CBO and Senator BAUCUS' staff to address any concerns.

Currently, Medicare will only cover biologics if they are administered in a physician's office or clinical setting. That means patients must travel to the physician's office to receive treatment. This is not easy for many patients who have rheumatoid arthritis or MS—two diseases that can severely limit a person's mobility.

Fortunately, there are versions of these drugs that a patient can take in their own home. It is a great innovation that will improve a patient's access.

Unfortunately, Medicare won't cover biologics that are administered in the home. That just doesn't make sense. I have been working to correct this inequity for the past 2 Congresses.

The Murray-Conrad-Smith amendment would provide 2 years of coverage, under Part B, for those self-injected biologics that replace treatments currently available only in a physician's office.

We allow for 2-year coverage to bridge the gap to implementation of a Medicare prescription drug benefit.

We have received a CBO score for the 2 years and believe that we can find room in 2004 and 2005 to provide this important coverage for MS and RA patients.

This legislation is strongly endorsed by the Arthritis Foundation and will provide additional coverage to all four MS self-injected or self-administered treatments.

For MS, only one treatment is covered under Medicare, provided in a physician's office.

I am hopeful that the managers of this legislation will be able to accept our amendment and end this discriminatory practice in Medicare.

Mr. President, I thank the Senator from New York.