Congressman Ruben Hinojosa Announces Nearly 200 Thousand Senior Texans Have Now Received Their "Donut-Hole" Checks as a Result of Health Care Reform

Today, Congressman Rubén Hinojosa announced that, to date, more than 3 million seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries have received "donut hole' checks to begin to close their prescription drug coverage gap. Under the Affordable Care Act, seniors whose prescription drug costs were so high that they fell in the Medicare prescription drug "donut hole' coverage gap in 2010 are receiving this one-time tax-free $250 rebate check--and the "donut hole' will be completely closed by 2020.
These $250 checks will continue to be mailed out over the next several weeks -- for those who fell into the "donut hole' late in 2010.

A total of 193,301 Senior Texans and other Medicare beneficiaries in Texas have received a "donut hole' check so far. (Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

"This is a great example of how our Affordable Care Act is helping our Seniors," said Rep. Hinojosa. Prescription drugs cost many seniors thousands of dollars a year and this check is a down payment that will help seniors who fall into the donut hole, which will eventually be closed altogether."

The $250 checks were just the first of the benefits for seniors under the new health law -- with many additional benefits having now taken effect on January 1. And yet on January 19, all House Republicans voted to repeal all of the patient protections and benefits that Congress enacted last year. This repeal, if it were to be successful, would deny Seniors all of these new benefits that are currently being implemented.
First of all, the "donut hole' checks are just the first step under reform to reduce prescription drug costs for seniors. Beginning from January 1, 2011, seniors who fall into the donut hole are now receiving a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs while in the donut hole. This discount gets larger over time until the "donut hole' coverage gap, which was created by Congressional Republicans, is completely eliminated by 2020.
In addition to savings on prescription drugs, the health reform law provides new benefits to seniors when they visit their doctor starting this year:
* As of January 1, 2011, traditional Medicare no longer charges out-of-pocket costs for the "Welcome to Medicare" physical exam and, for the first time since the Medicare program was created in 1965, traditional Medicare now covers an annual wellness visit with a participating doctor, also at no cost.

* In addition to these annual wellness visits, seniors can now receive critical preventive services, including certain cancer screenings such as mammograms and colonoscopies, for free.

* Also as of January 1, 2011, the Affordable Care Act will provide qualifying doctors and other health care professionals providing primary care to people on Medicare a 10-percent bonus for primary care services. This will help ensure that those primary care providers can continue to be there for Medicare patients.

Under the new law, other benefits for Seniors include:

* Strengthens Medicare by extending its solvency by an additional 12 years, from 2017 to 2029.
* Includes Medicare efficiencies, so that experts estimate that the average savings for those enrolled in traditional Medicare will amount to more than $3,500 over the next 10 years.
* Continues to reduce waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare.
* Improves care by helping doctors communicate and coordinate.
* Expands home and community-based services to keep seniors in their home, instead of in nursing homes.

"House Republicans have voted to repeal all of these new benefits for seniors," said Rep. Hinojosa. "I am confident that Senate Democrats and President Obama will block this repeal effort from ever taking effect. It is vital that America's seniors receive these critical benefits. I've been hearing from Senior citizens in my district that the $250 checks they've received have been very helpful to them. And now, beginning from January 1 of this year, Seniors in the "donut hole' are obtaining even greater savings on their prescription drugs with the new 50% discount on brand-name drugs."

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