LAT: Fearing Senior Backlash, Senate Supports Drug Plan Extension

Fearing Senior Backlash, Senate Supports Drug Plan Extension
By Joel Havemann and Peter Wallsten, Times Staff Writers
March 16, 2006


WASHINGTON — The Republican-led Senate, worried that seniors will punish GOP lawmakers at the polls for missteps in the new Medicare prescription drug program, voted Wednesday to authorize the government to lengthen the sign-up period for the benefit and to negotiate cut-rate prices with drug companies.

The Senate action provided fresh evidence that the prescription drug insurance program, which President Bush has held up as one of the leading achievements of his presidency, had turned into a political liability.

The vote to allow the government to negotiate for discounts on drugs marked a major policy reversal for the Senate and a rare move against the pharmaceutical industry, one of the leading donors to federal political campaigns, with most of its money going to Republicans....The Senate action does not carry the force of law because the amendments were attached to a budget resolution that provides only guidance for future legislation. But it carries political significance by putting the administration on notice that it cannot depend on routine approval by Congress to carry out the drug program.

The votes came as Bush, who has acknowledged the widespread confusion among seniors over the new benefit, felt the sting of seniors' unhappiness as he faced sharp questions about the program Wednesday during a visit to a Maryland senior center. The trip was intended to promote the drug benefit and to encourage seniors to sign up before May 15. After that date, they will have to pay a surcharge in order to enroll.

Bush said he was committed to keeping the May 15 deadline....


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-medicare16mar16,0,1576618.story?coll=la-home-nation

"(The program)which President Bush has held up as one of the leading achievements of his presidency ..."

Yep, the program has all the earmarks of one of Bush's 'achievements': it's totally muddled, can't be understood by anyone, and it takes money out of the pockets of vulnerable seniors and places it firmly in the coffers of the pharmaceutical industry.

Imagine thinking of THAT as one of your 'leading achievements'!

:rofl:

Seniors will demand and expect a good prescription coverage program. This strengthens the political arsenal of those fighting for universal health coverage.

The article mentions this: "The Senate instead voted 76 to 22 for Grassley's alternative, which gives the administration the authority to extend the deadline beyond May 15."

Bush has already said that he doesn't want to extend the deadline past May 15. This amendment just gives the admin the opportunity to extend it, which he won't do. The senate repubs just put it into the shrub's lap instead of their own. The LAT reports it as if it is a victory for seniors - it isn't. It's just political cover. Someone in LA should write a LTTE and explain the difference since this article is so slanted and misleading.

It gives them the authority to extend, but it doesn't say they have to. Repubs are so devious!