Report: White House Wrong on Medicare - Democratic Underground

Caution

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Tue May-04-04 01:08 PM
Original message

Report: White House Wrong on Medicare

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20040504/ap_on_go_co/medicare_cost

WASHINGTON - Bush administration officials were wrong to prevent a budget expert from giving Congress estimates of the cost of Medicare legislation, congressional researchers have concluded.

In a report made public Monday, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service said efforts to keep Richard Foster, the chief Medicare actuary, from giving Democratic lawmakers his projections of the bill's cost — $100 billion more than the president and other officials were acknowledging — probably violated federal law.

<snip>

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noonwitch

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Tue May-04-04 01:12 PM
Response to Original message

1. Report: White House wrong about everything!

Seriously, though, everyone knew his medicare plan wouldn't work. The AARP has been saying so for some time.

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htuttle

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Tue May-04-04 01:19 PM
Response to Reply #1

2. I thought AARP endorsed this plan?

...And that's why so many people quit their AARP memberships in disgust last year?

Was that a different stupid plan that AARP endorsed? There have been so many stupid plans, I'm starting to confuse them.

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noonwitch

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Tue May-04-04 01:24 PM
Response to Reply #2

3. I am too, and I'm not an AARP member

My mom told me that they didn't endorse the plan. Maybe she was wrong? Or maybe I'm thinking of an earlier plan that the AARP didn't like?

None of Bush's plans are going to work as long as he's running a huge deficit. Not even the war.

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htuttle

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Tue May-04-04 01:29 PM
Response to Reply #3

5. Here's something from The Agonist on this

January 18, 2004

AARP plans drive to revise Medicare law

AARP, the influential lobby for older Americans, said Friday it would seek changes in the new Medicare law to allow the government to negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries if private insurers do not rein in costs.

AARP, which has more than 35 million members ages 50 and older, was instrumental in securing passage of the legislation, drafted mostly by Republicans. But the group's chief executive said Friday the law did not go far enough.
http://www.agonist.org/archives/012747.html

I also found a NewsMax link that stated that AARP lost 45,000 members after they endorsed this law, but I don't want to post a NewsMax link. This is how I remember it, though.

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damnraddem

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Tue May-04-04 02:08 PM
Response to Reply #3

7. They endorsed it. They've continued to support it, with TV ads.

And that's why I quit AARP and won't reconsider joining.

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revcarol

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Tue May-04-04 04:01 PM
Response to Reply #7

9. Yup. they definitely endorsed it under the idea that

half a loaf is better than none. Now that they see, as WE SEE, that the half loaf is made of sawdust, they're trying to say that it just needs "improvement."

"Improvement" as in FILE 13, ASAP.

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Just Me

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Tue May-04-04 01:27 PM
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4. When I consider the number of potentially illegal "gag orders",...

,...that this freaky administration has issued, I wanna puke.

A perfect example, how's about Cheney's energy policy/panel. Why isn't the intentional withholding of those documents not the same as an illegal "gag order"?

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Bandit

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Tue May-04-04 01:43 PM
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6. Whack their Pee Pee

Probably illegal. What a huge surprise. I'll hold my breath until they are charged with a crime.

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pinto

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Tue May-04-04 03:32 PM
Response to Original message

8. no, AP Headline Writer person, it's not "wrong", it's "Illegal".

Edited on Tue May-04-04 03:32 PM by pinto

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