Wisconsin Congressional Delegation Fights to Preserve SeniorCare July 12, 2006 Washington, D.C. – All Wisconsin members of the House and Senate have sent a joint letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt urging him to extend Wisconsin’s SeniorCare program, which is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2007. The letter, authored by Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin and Senator Russ Feingold, and signed by Sen. Herb Kohl and Reps. Ron Kind, Gwen Moore, Dave Obey, Tom Petri, Paul Ryan, and Jim Sensenbrenner supports the official request for an extension made on June 29th by Governor Jim Doyle. “The people of Wisconsin know that SeniorCare is a cost-effective and well-managed program for providing health care coverage to our senior citizens. Governor Doyle has responded to strong public support for extending this valuable program. I urge the Secretary to heed the advice of the Governor and our entire delegation and extend this program that does so much good for so many in our state,” said Congresswoman Baldwin. “SeniorCare is essential for many senior citizens in the state of Wisconsin. It provides simple access to prescription drugs, which has become even more important to Wisconsinites since the roll out of Medicare Part D. I will continue working to keep SeniorCare available, and to preserve its current structure,” said Senator Feingold. Last year, after intense lobbying by the Governor and the delegation, SeniorCare was allowed to continue after the launch of the controversial Medicare Part D program on January 1, 2006. SeniorCare continues to be a popular program in Wisconsin, with enrollment surging by more than 25 percent in the last year. For many Wisconsinites, SeniorCare provides better prescription drug coverage than Medicare Part D. Additionally, SeniorCare has been shown to produce significant cost savings to the federal government through reduced Medicaid payments.

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