Recent surveys show that an "overwhelming majority" of Medicare beneficiaries are satisfied with the new prescription drug benefit and that the benefit is "delivering on its promise of more choices at lower cost," Newt Gingrich, founder of the Center for Health Transformation, and David Merritt, project director of the center, write in a Boston Globe opinion piece. Gingrich and Merritt note that "[c]ompetition and consumer empowerment" have helped drive down the benefit's average monthly premium from an estimated $37 to $25, and seniors "will continue to get" the medicines "they need." They write that "Bush and Congress enacted bold reforms" in the 2003 Medicare law, but the "transformation" of the program "must not stop" with the successful implementation of the drug benefit. According to Gingrich and Merritt, Medicare should "effectively engage its beneficiaries in their health and health care through consumer-centric health plans" and help beneficiaries become better consumers by providing pricing and quality information to beneficiaries. In addition, "Medicare should reimburse physicians, hospitals and other providers based on the quality of care they deliver," and Medicare "must make health information technology an essential part of the program," Gingrich and Merritt write (Gingrich/Merritt, Boston Globe, 3/30).

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