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

To: JakeStraw who wrote (495841)	11/20/2003 9:25:24 AM
From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Prescription Drug Benefit Will Shift Burden to Taxpayers; Spending Will Shift from Seniors and Third Parties to Taxpayer-Supported Medicare, Says NCPA 11/18/03 9:54:00 AM WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Despite $400 billion in additional taxpayer money projected to be spent on prescription drugs over the next 10 years in current Medicare reform legislation, spending on new drugs for seniors will increase only by about 5 to 7, according to a new brief analysis written by Andrew Rettenmaier, senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA). "Most of the increased spending under the current bill will come from taxpayers, but only a small amount will actually buy new prescription drugs," said Rettenmaier, who also is executive associate director of the Private Enterprise Research Center (PERC) at Texas A&M University. "The new benefit shifts the burden from seniors and third party payers to taxpayers." The NCPA report found that for every $16 that taxpayers will pay for the prescription drug benefit, only about $1 will pay for increased spending on drugs. The remaining $15 tax dollars will replace money now being spent by third party payers and seniors. "The prescription drug benefit is good news for third-party payers and seniors who are currently paying the bill," Rettenmaier added, "but taxpayers will have to pay for it." ------ The full NCPA report "Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit: What Difference Would It Make?" is available online at ncpa. The NCPA is an internationally known nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute with offices in Dallas and Washington, D.C. that advocates private solutions to public policy problems. We depend on the contributions of individuals, corporations and foundations that share our mission. The NCPA accepts no government grants. usnewswire.com -0- /© 2003 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/