Statements On Introduced Bills And Joint Resolutions
Floor Speech
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By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. LEVIN, and Mr. DORGAN):
S. 565. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide continued entitlement to coverage for immunosuppressive drugs furnished to beneficiaries under the Medicare Program that have received a kidney transplant and whose entitlement to coverage would otherwise expire, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. DURBIN. March 12 is recognized as World Kidney Day, a day to raise awareness of the major health and societal costs of kidney disease. Today, 26 million American adults have chronic kidney disease, and 500,000 have irreversible kidney failure, or end-stage renal disease ESRD. These patients require dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive.
Fortunately, medical advancements have transformed organ transplantation from an experimental procedure into the accepted and often best treatment for organ failure. Transplantation has prolonged and improved the lives of thousands of Americans. Over 16,000 Americans received a kidney transplant in 2007, and 150,000 today are living with functioning kidney transplants.
Many of these kidney transplants were paid for by the Medicare system, which provides health care to aged and disabled Americans, as well as those living with ESRD. For these ESRD patients, Medicare also covers dialysis for patients who have not received a donor kidney and immunosuppressive drugs for kidney transplant recipients. Organ transplant recipients must take immunosuppressive drugs every day for the life of their transplant to reduce the risk of organ rejection.
In 2000, Congress wisely eliminated the 36-month time limitation for aged and disabled beneficiaries who had Medicare status at the time of transplant. So today, for an older or disabled person on Medicare, immunosuppressive drugs are covered by Medicare for the life of the transplant.
However, we still have an unfair and unrealistic gap in coverage for people with ESRD who are neither disabled nor elderly. For those transplant recipients, coverage for immunosuppressive drugs ends 36 months after transplantation. This is economically inefficient and morally wrong. Without regular access to immunosuppressive drugs to prevent rejection, many patients find themselves back in a risky and frightening place--in need of a new kidney.
Since Medicare covers the cost of the transplant for end stage renal disease, it makes sense for Medicare to preserve this investment by covering antirejection drugs. It would be far less expensive for Medicare to cover immunosuppressive drugs at a cost of $10,000 to $20,000 a year than to pay for dialysis--$71,000 a year--or another transplant, $106,000, if a patient's kidney fails and he is once again eligible for Medicare coverage.
I am pleased to introduce today, along with my colleague from Mississippi, Senator THAD COCHRAN, the Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Transplant Patients Act. This legislation would allow kidney transplant recipients to continue Medicare coverage for the purpose of immunosuppressive drugs only. All other Medicare coverage would end 36 months after the transplant.
It is time to take this step to provide continuous coverage for immunosuppressive drugs through Medicare. This is a logical and moral move that will reduce the need for dialysis and kidney retransplants and provide reliable, sustained access to critically important, lifesaving medications for thousands of Americans. In the long run, we will save both money and lives.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD
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By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Schumer, and Mr. Kennedy):
S. 566. A bill to create a Financial Product Safety Commission, to provide consumers with stronger protections and better information in connection with consumer financial products, and to give providers of consumer financial products more regulatory certainty; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Mr. DURBIN. When consumers purchase tangible consumer products such as toasters or televisions, they can be reasonably confident that the products are safe for their families to use. In America we don't say ``buyer beware'' when it comes to lead paint in toys or risky drugs. But when Americans purchase financial products such as mortgages or credit cards, they often have little idea whether those products --and the mountain of fine print that come with them--are good for their families. Why?
The answer is that consumer products are subject to oversight, while financial products are not. Professor Elizabeth Warren, Chairperson of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program, was right when she said ``we need more oversight.'' That was more than a year ago.
Today there are no fewer than 10 Federal regulators with responsibility for consumer protections from predatory or deceptive financial products, but none have oversight as its primary objective.
The legislation that I am introducing today with Senators Schumer and Kennedy would create a Financial Product Safety Commission that would focus exclusively on the interests of consumers. I am pleased that Congressmen Bill Delahunt and Brad Miller will be introducing the House companion.
The objectives of the Financial Product Safety Commission would be to reduce consumer risk in using financial products, coordinate enforcement with other Federal and State regulators, and report to the public regarding the state of consumer financial product safety.
The Financial Product Safety Commission would fulfill that mission by preventing predatory and deceptive financial practices, educating consumers on the responsible use of financial products and services, establishing a regulatory floor beneath which consumer financial product safety could not fall, and recommending the steps that should be taken to improve the value of financial products for consumers.
The bill is supported by over 55 national and State organizations, including Consumer Federation of America, Center for Responsible Lending Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, NAACP, La Raza, AFL-CIO, SEIU, National Consumer Law Center, Consumers Union, Public Citizen, and U.S. PIRG. I include a statement of support for the Record.
As Congress embarks on financial regulatory reform, our improved regulatory system must focus not just on the safety and soundness of the providers of financial products but also on the safety of the consumers of financial products. The Financial Product Safety Commission will do just that.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill and supporting material be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be placed in the RECORD
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