The Medicare Mess (6/22/04)
President Bush's new Medicare program is a big give away to the drug industry and a big take away from seniors. Here are five reasons why:
- Pressure during the congressional vote. Last November, soon after
Bush signed the Medicare changes into law, the promise of improved Medicare
was quickly shown to be a sham. After an uneasy, razor-thin vote in
the House of Representatives that stayed open an unprecedented three
hours until early in the morning so Speaker Dennis Hastert, of Illinois
politics, could arm twist hesitant members, we soon learned that at
least one of those arm twists turned out to be a bribe. Republican Representative
Nick Smith, from Michigan, was offered a $100,000 bribe to vote for
the Medicare bill. Smith angrily described the offer as a promise of
campaign funds for his son Brad, who is seeking the GOP nomination to
succeed him. When it was pointed out that an offer of $100,000 in exchange
for a vote met the statutory definition of a bribe, Smith clammed up
and then recanted.
- Heavy duty lobbying and fundraising by the drug industry. The
drug industry spent over $35 million lobbying for Medicare changes
and the right to become drug discount card sponsors, resulting in estimated
industry profits of $139 billion! Now drug card sponsors are
busily raising money for Bush's re-election. For example, Medco Health
Solutions helped host a fundraiser that featured Health and Human Services
Secretary Tommy Thompson-the haul: $100,000 for the Bush campaign.
- Hiding the real costs by threatening an honest federal employee.
In March, more deceit was uncovered when Medicare's top actuary Richard
Foster told a House Ways and Means Committee hearing that the analyses
he had given the White House in June 2003 (way before the legislation
was voted on) showed the proposed Medicare legislation "would cost 25
to 50% more" than the public figures released by the Bush administration.
Foster repeated his claim that Thomas Scully, his boss at the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services, warned him that Foster would be
fired if he released the higher figures. Foster added that Scully said
he was "acting under direct White House orders."
Since then, we have learned that the White House Medicare costs were
off base by $100 billion! Some congressional members now say
they were deliberately misled by the White House into voting for the
legislation.
- Illegal propaganda. In May, the General Accounting Office,
an investigative arm of Congress, concluded that the Medicare video
news releases, produced by the Health and Human Services Department
to portray the new Medicare as a boon to the elderly, violated a federal
law prohibiting the government from using taxpayer funds for
"covert propaganda." In these mock news releases, actors
pose as journalists and recite scripts prepared by the Bush administration.
The investigation found that the stories were not strictly factual,
did not identify the government as their source, and led viewers to
believe the information was from a neutral news source. Federal law
prohibits use of federal money for publicity or propaganda purposes
not authorized by Congress.
- Rising drug prices and confusing prescription drug discount cards. Soaring drug prices continue to outpace inflation, and confusion about discount cards is so widespread that one senior said , "You'll have to hire a $500-an-hour attorney to find out if you'll save five cents." John Rother, Public Policy Director of AARP, which supported the legislation, said, "The anxiety level is off the charts." You bet it is-seniors know they face ever-increasing drug costs, a confusing array of insurances in 2006, and the strong possibility of losing employer-sponsored retiree health benefits. So much for Bush's Medicare reform.........
- Judith Kohler
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