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

To: PROLIFE who wrote (497994)	11/24/2003 7:17:46 PM
From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Prescription drug plan is worse than nothing at all, unions charge November 24, 2003 Union leaders and allies say the Medicare prescription drug benefit approved by a congressional conference this week does more harm than good. "When they get the details of this deal, older voters will be furious with their representatives," said John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO. Minnesota Congresswoman Betty McCollum said: "The national leadership of AARP has taken an unprecedented move and sold out seniors to aggressively advance the Republican agenda to privatize Medicare and, now, Social Security. AARP should not stand for Aggressive Advocacy of Republican Policies, they should stand for seniors." AARP has done an about face on the Republican plan to privatize Medicare, McCollum charged: In July, AARP released a statement saying that it opposed "a premium support structure ... that could ... require beneficiaries to pay even more out-of-pocket." This bill includes a premium support demonstration. AARP stated it was against an asset test for eligibility. This bill includes an asset test. In July, AARP was in favor of narrowing the coverage gap. This bill actually widens the coverage gap and leaves seniors with drugs costs between $2,200 and $3,600 a year without any coverage. AARP has stated it supports greater efforts to reduce drug costs. This bill weakens efforts to contain drugs costs and does not include re-importation rights. "Minnesota seniors and persons with disabilities need affordable, accessible prescription drugs now," McCollum said. "AARP and the Bush Administration are advocating for a plan that will increase costs for some seniors, leave many with no coverage at all, and will not even begin until 2006." AARP members themselves oppose the Congressional plan, according to the AFL-CIO poll. Among AARP members, who made up 57 percent of all respondents, only 18 percent say Congress should pass the bill as is. AARP has launched a nationwide campaign in support of the Republican plan, including newspaper ads saying that "while this bill is far from perfect,AARP supports this bill as a good first step." Who benefits the most? The prescription drug coverage as proposed would be provided by private companies under contract with Medicare. It is voluntary. For seniors who sign up, the plan carries a $35 monthly premium and a $275 deductible; it covers 75 percent of drug costs up to $2,200, nothing for costs between $2,200 and $5,000, then 95 percent of costs over $5,000. Only 27 percent of Medicare beneficiaries say they are likely to enroll in the program, according to the AFL-CIO poll. Union leaders and allies say the Medicare prescription drug benefit approved by a congressional conference this week does more harm than good. "When they get the details of this deal, older voters will be furious with their representatives," said John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO. "Congress should go back to work and come up with a meaningful benefit that doesn't jeopardize the coverage seniors now have. The primary beneficiary of this deal is the pharmaceutical industry." The AFL-CIO and others say the bill continues to move Medicare toward privatization while it raises premiums, co-payments and deductibles for 32.5 million seniors and people with disabilities. The draft legislation also threatens the employer-provided health care benefits of 4.5 billion retirees, while showering drug companies with windfall profits and private insurers with $12 billion in direct aid, according to studies. Polling done by the AFL-CIO shows that only 19 percent of citizens older than 55 say Congress should pass the Republican bill; 64 percent say Congress should come up with a better plan. The survey was conducted Nov. 17-18 by Hart Research, after key details of the Republican-backed legislation were announced. Only 16 percent of Medicare beneficiaries who now lack drug benefits say Congress should pass the current bill. Who's side is AARP on? The plans critics are also blasting the nation's largest senior organization, AARP, for supporting the Medicare plan. One study says the pharmaceutical industry will earn "enormous windfall profits" of $139 billion under the proposed Medicare legislation. The study by the Health Reform Program at Boston University's School of Public Health, says the bill does not contain mechanisms to control prices and does not even allow Medicare to negotiate prices for drugs. "Unrestrained prices- given the remarkably low real cost of producing the added volumes of pills that Medicare patients need- will bestow enormous windfall profits on prescription drug makers," the report says. (For the full report, visit www.healthreformprogram.org) A separate study by USAction Education Fund says as many as 13.4 million seniors and people with disabilities will be forced to pay more in prescription drug premiums, deductibles and co-payments, and as many as 32.5 million will face higher out-of-pocket costs for doctor visits and laboratory tests under the bills' provisions. Further, the report reaffirms the finding of the Congressional Budget Office that the bills will encourage employers to drop their retiree drug benefits, leaving as many as 4.5 million without their current employer-provided drug coverage. (For the full report, visit www.usaction.org) Compiled from the AFL-CIO and other source Workday Minnesota is a collaborative