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Frist
Confident About Medicare Bill
Democratic
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.)
expressed confidence yesterday that he has the votes to pass a landmark
Medicare prescription drug package before the Senate heads home for the
Thanksgiving holiday, perhaps as early as today. But Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and an
eclectic band of rebel lawmakers began their effort to talk the bill to
death, known formally as a filibuster. He was joined by the three Senate
Democrats seeking the party's presidential nomination and Republican Sen.
John McCain (R-Ariz.), who objects to the 10-year, $400 billion price tag. "I make no apology for obstructing the
massive benefits for the insurance industry and the pharmaceutical
industry spread through this legislation," said Kennedy, who voted
for creation of the Medicare program in 1965. Gathered for an unusual Sunday session,
lawmakers on the Senate floor weighed in yesterday on the 1,000-plus-page
document. "This bill makes it easier for big drug
companies to gouge seniors and jack up health care costs so that top
executives can make millions," said presidential candidate Sen. John
F. Kerry (D-Mass.). He, like other liberal opponents, complained that the
legislation does little to curb skyrocketing prescription costs, forces
many seniors to spend more on medicine and includes too many sweeteners
for the industries likely to receive millions of new customers. If Frist can overcome the opposition,
President Bush intends to sign the bill, which for the first time in
Medicare's history would provide some level of outpatient prescription
drug coverage for 40 million senior citizens and disabled people. Although
the benefits would not start until 2006, both sides expect Bush and other
proponents to use a Medicare victory as a central plank in the 2004
campaign. "I don't see how any senator can go
home and tell seniors that we're not going to give you a benefit that we
promised you five and six years ago," Frist said on CNN's "Late
Edition." In the Senate debate, Finance Committee
Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said Democrats lost seats in the
last election because they opposed a Medicare drug bill, and he predicted
they would do so again. Supporters of the legislation, including the
35 million-member AARP and at least seven Senate Democrats, say it will go
a long way in alleviating the strain of rising drug costs. It would also
add an element of private-sector competition to the government program,
relying on insurance companies or pharmacy benefit firms to administer the
drug plans. The bill includes a variety of other
changes, including a 1.5 percent rate increase for physicians, millions of
dollars for rural hospitals and tax incentives to purchase medical savings
accounts. Next April or May, seniors could purchase drug discount cards
until the full benefits are implemented. To highlight the administration's interest,
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson spent much of the
weekend on Capitol Hill, lobbying lawmakers and holding a news conference
yesterday. "This bill is so important to seniors all across Under the bill, Medicare recipients would
have the option of purchasing drug plans for about $35 a month and, after
paying a $250 deductible, would have 75 percent of their medicine bills
covered, up to $2,250. The upfront costs would be waived for low-income
seniors, who would be charged $1 to $5 in drug co-payments. Opponents say the move toward private
competition threatens to undermine the fundamental nature of Medicare as a
guaranteed health program for every senior citizen. "I have a moral responsibility to do
anything I can to stop it," said Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.),
who like the other presidential candidates abandoned the campaign trail to
participate in the debate. "It's not a first step, it's a
misstep," said Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), who also is running for
president. "It's very good for the drug companies, it's very good for
the HMOs, but it's bad for seniors." Emotions were running high after an
all-night session Friday in the House culminated with an unprecedented
three-hour roll call that ended just before dawn Saturday. What looked to
be a defeat for Bush suddenly turned around early Saturday when House
Republican leaders persuaded two rank-and-file lawmakers to switch from
the "no" to the "yes" column, arguing that Democrats
would use a parliamentary procedure to bring a more liberal bill to the
floor. Yesterday, Brendan Daly, spokesman for House
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), said that was never considered --
or even possible, given Democrats' minority status. The extended period of cajoling and
arm-twisting left bitter feelings: Senate Democrats suggested it was an
abuse of House rules, and McCain agreed. "Republicans had better hope
that the Democrats never regain the majority," he said on ABC's
"This Week." Thompson acknowledged the legislation is not perfect and committed to a massive public education campaign if it is enacted. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
