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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: U Up U Down who wrote (39595)	9/25/2000 1:34:18 PM
From: ColtonGang	Respond to of 769667

Gore to outline Medicare proposals September 24, 2000 Web posted at: 11:04 p.m. EDT (0304 GMT) From Jonathan Karl CNN Correspondent WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Vice President Al Gore outlines his proposals for Medicare and delivers a blistering critique of Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush's plans for the program in a booklet to be unveiled Monday in Florida. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this story: Would make it harder for HMO's to drop out Eliminate some co-payments -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 74-page booklet, titled "Medicare at the Crossroads," includes new proposals designed to punish HMO's which drop Medicare recipients, and to give seniors more access to preventive health care. "Al Gore and Joe Lieberman believe that HMO's have a responsibility to the people who depend on them to cover their care," the booklet reads, "and there should be strong disincentives to keep HMO's from violating that trust, and strong punishment for them if they do." About 700,000 Medicare recipients have been forced to change health plans since 1999 because their HMO's have dropped out of the Medicare system. The Gore campaign says nearly a million more seniors will be forced to do the same thing next year as more HMO's drop out of Medicare. Would make it harder for HMO's to drop out Gore would deal with this problem by making it harder for HMO's to join or drop out of the federal health assistance program. For example, he would force HMO's who take on Medicare recipients to do so for a two-year period instead of the current one year. "A two-year participation period will make it harder for HMO's to withdraw from coverage, increasing the reliability and stability of the program," the booklet explains. Eliminate some co-payments Gore's plan would also eliminate co-payments and deductibles for a range of preventive care services, including hepatitis B vaccinations, colorectal and prostate cancer screenings and mammograms. Much of the booklet criticizes Bush's Medicare proposals, including the Republican's plans to add a prescription drug benefit Gore calls "woefully inadequate." "Governor Bush's Medicare reforms and prescription drug plan would threaten the ability of seniors to receive consistent health care," the booklet charges. It says Bush would turn Medicare into a "voucher-like system" that would increase premiums for traditional Medicare and push millions of seniors into private HMO's. Gore offered a general overview of his Medicare proposals in a conference call with reporters on Sunday. "As the baby boomers retire, Medicare faces insolvency unless we act now. I want to make a rock-solid commitment to Medicare," he said. "The Gore/Lieberman approach is very different from what the other side is proposing," he added. "The other side uses the Medicare surplus for a tax cut that primarily benefits the wealthiest Americans."