As debate continues on whether or not Congress should create a new government-run health care plan, Ways and Means Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI) today highlighted data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) showing that seniors enrolled in the Medicare prescription drug program, referred to as Part D, prefer innovative benefit packages created by the private sector to the standard plan Congress designed. 

“The public knows the federal government cannot design or manage health care,” said Camp. “The fact that nine out of ten seniors choosing a prescription drug plan pick something other than the basic structure Congress created says it all.” 

In the graph below, of Medicare beneficiaries not receiving low-income support, the orange segments show that less than 10 percent of seniors in a standalone Part D plan and Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plan choose the standard prescription drug benefit defined by Congress, opting instead for more innovative delivery systems and benefit packages that better meet their needs.