Wisconsin Democratic lawmakers in Washington, D.C wrote a letter to Gov. Scott Walker Wednesday urging him to not go forward with his proposed changes to the prescription drug program SeniorCare in the biennial budget.
U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., and Reps. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Ron Kind, D-Wis. and Gwen Moore, D-Wis., said the SeniorCare program has been ""extremely successful and popular"" because it is simple and saves taxpayers money.
""The SeniorCare program is a popular, cost-efficient program,"" the letter read. ""We urge you to not push forward with your budget proposal to alter the program.""
Under Walker's plan, the 91,000 seniors participating in the program would be required to first enroll in the federal program Medicare Part D—which subsidized the cost of perscription drugs—when applying for SeniorCare.
The lawmakers said this change in the program ""would effectively remove the many benefits that seniors like about the program such as quick enrollment, straight-forward benefits, and a generous drug formulary.""
Walker's proposal would require approval from the Department of Health and Human Services if it passes. In the letter, the Democrats said they would ask Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to reject the proposal if it goes that far.
These four Democrats are not the first lawmakers to ask Walker to leave SeniorCare intact. State legislators, including Republican state Sens. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, and Randy Hopper, R-Fond du Lac, have also publicly stated their opposition to Walker's proposal and have pledged to preserve the program.
—Adam Wollner
