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House GOP Drug Plan Covers Physicals
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The millions of baby boomers heading for their senior years would get free physical examinations once they enter Medicare under a Republican-backed prescription drug bill moving through the House. Both the Ways and Means and the Energy and Commerce committees were to begin considering the bill Tuesday. It was expected to reach the full House for debate next week. The physicals, a new addition to the Republican plan, would cost the government $2.5 billion over 10 years. The number of Americans aged 65 and older is expected to increase 17 percent, from 33.5 million in 1995 to 39.4 million in 2010, the government estimates. Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., said the physicals will save money over time. ``It will allow us to have early detection and treatment. It's long overdue,'' Thomas said. It's also a way for Republicans to capture some support and downplay criticism of their prescription drug plan, which is two-thirds bigger than what President Bush wants but less than half of what Democrats would provide for seniors. ``This bill fails the test of a real Medicare drug benefit,'' said Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif. ``Don't be fooled by Republican rhetoric.'' Several consumer and senior organizations planned to announce their opposition Tuesday. Pharmacists' groups sent a letter of opposition to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., shortly after the plan was introduced Monday. AARP, the nation's largest lobbying group for older Americans, was withholding its full endorsement. ``We are going to have to note that there is a funding problem,'' said Chris Hansen, director of advocacy for the group. The prescription drug plan is the centerpiece of the package that would cost $350 billion over 10 years. About $310 billion is allocated for the drug benefit. The remaining $40 billion would pay for initiatives like the physicals and a number of measures that would boost payments to providers like hospitals, doctors and HMOs that serve Medicare patients. Many of those providers have complained that Medicare payments fail to cover rising health care costs. The GOP proposal is far different from Democratic plans, which spend considerably more and use the money solely for a prescription drug benefit. Senate Democrats are touting a $500 billion, 10-year plan while House Democrats have unveiled an $800 billion proposal. Those plans have lower premiums, deductibles and co-payments. Thomas dismissed critics who contend Republicans weren't spending enough, saying the budget is already stretched. ``This bill goes as far as we can go,'' he said. Bush proposed $190 billion for a prescription drug benefit. Under the House GOP plan, all but low-income seniors would be required to pay a monthly premium of $35 and meet a $250 yearly deductible. The government would pay 80 percent of costs on the first $1,000 of drug costs and 50 percent on the next $1,000. Patients would be responsible for drug costs beyond that and would have to reach $4,500 in out-of-pocket spending before additional government help would kick in. The bill also includes a provision for congressional investigators to study the effects of drug company advertising aimed at consumers, which has tripled since 1996. Some advocates are already questioning whether Congress can work through its sharp differences to get a bill to the White House. ``To pass something this year is an uphill climb and we're talking about Himalayan standards, not Catskills standards,'' said Ronald Pollack, president of Families USA, a liberal consumer group. ``I think it's going to be very hard to bridge those differences in an election year.'' FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Action on Aging distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
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