Whereas in 2003, Congress created part D of the Medicare program, which provided voluntary, outpatient prescription drug coverage for seniors; Whereas in 2015, about 39 million Medicare beneficiaries received prescription drug benefits through a Medicare part D plan or a Medicare Advantage plan; Whereas another 2 million such beneficiaries received drug assistance through a part D subsidized retiree health plan; Whereas program costs under part D have been lower than estimated at the beginning of the program; Whereas the 2004 Medicare Trustees Report projected the total program spending would be $85 billion in 2006 and would grow to $162 billion by 2013; Whereas actual Medicare spending was $70 billion in 2013; Whereas according to a Healthcare Leadership Council, 89 percent of Americans age 65 and older are satisfied with their coverage and 85 percent say that they consider their Medicare drug plan to be a good value; Whereas under the standard Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit for 2017, beneficiaries reach a coverage gap, commonly known as the doughnut hole , when their total drug costs reach $3,700; Whereas beneficiaries reach a catastrophic coverage threshold when their drug costs reach $8,071; Whereas in 2010, as a part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, it was found that the coverage gap will end by 2020; and Whereas many seniors have been misled into believing that the coverage gap will be repealed during health care reform: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1) supports the system for prescription drug coverage provided under part D of the Medicare program; and (2) believes that changes to such system should not be part of the American Health Care Act of 2017.