March 24,2000

Committee Continues Examination of Prescription Drug Benefit in Medicare Program

WASHINGTON -- The Senate Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, March 29, 2000 at 10:00 am in room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building to examine the inclusion of a prescription drug benefit in the Medicare program. This is the second in a series of hearings to consider this issue.

The following witnesses are expected to testify before the committee:

Panel I:

The Honorable Bill Frist, M.D., Senator from Tennessee;

The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy, Senator from Massachusetts;

The Honorable Olympia J. Snowe, Senator from Maine;

The Honorable Michael Bilirakis, Representative from Florida;

Michael Hash, Deputy Administrator, Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA); Washington, D.C.

Panel II:

Michael Fogarty, Chief Executive Officer, Oklahoma Health Care Authority; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma;

Carol J. McCall, FSA, MAAA, Executive Vice President for Managed Care and Informatics, Allscripts Inc.; Libertyville, IL;

Marjorie W. Dorr, Chief Operating Officer, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Connecticut; North Haven, Connecticut.