AARP wages ad blitz for GOP Medicare drug plan
'Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval' on seniors' issues
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President Bush met Monday with congressional leaders to discuss progress on the emerging Medicare prescription drug bill in the Cabinet Room of the White House.
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President Bush is pushing Congress to pass a Medicare overhaul that would add prescription drug coverage. CNN's Jonathan Karl reports (November 17)
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The AARP is leaving a $7 million imprint on prescription drug legislation in an advertising campaign that delights Republicans who crafted the bill and dismays Democrats who oppose it.
The group's backing is "the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval when it comes to seniors' issues," House Speaker Dennis Hastert said Monday as the 35 million-member AARP announced its support, then backed it up with plans to air commercials.
John Rother, policy director at AARP, said the organization would spend $7 million over three days beginning Wednesday, including nationwide cable television advertising and commercials aired on stations in selected portions of the country. He said the advertising campaign would continue if the bill hadn't been brought to a vote by Friday.
Other seniors organizations have announced their opposition to the measure, including the National Committee to Preserve Social Security, the Alliance for retired Americans and Families USA.
But thus far, neither they nor the AFL-CIO, which also opposes the measure, has disclosed plans to air advertising on the subject. And with votes in the House and Senate only days away, it was not clear whether these groups or other opponents would weigh in.
After months of effort, lawmakers struggled to work out final details on a deal that Hastert, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, key Republicans and two Democratic senators agreed to Saturday night.
The legislation would create a new prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries beginning in 2006. At the same time, it would carve out a large new role for insurance companies, encouraging them to offer a new private health coverage plan for elderly Americans.
The most controversial portion of the measure would establish a six-year program of direct competition beginning in 2010 between traditional Medicare and the private plans. The program would be limited to six metropolitan regions.
Supporters said direct competition was necessary to reduce the future growth of the program. Critics countered that as younger and healthier seniors move toward managed care, older, sicker beneficiaries would face ever-rising premium costs in traditional Medicare coverage.
Democrats led by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy attacked the bill, and the party faced a decision on whether to attempt a filibuster that would force Republicans to find 60 votes. Aides said the issue likely was to become a topic at the party's regular Tuesday closed-door caucus.
Democratic Sens. John Breaux of Louisiana and Max Baucus of Montana both have pledged support for the tentative agreement. In addition, Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia said he was inclined to favor the proposal, and Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana spoke in generally favorable terms.
The GOP leadership was likely to lose the support of a few Republicans worried about the cost of the overhaul. Sen. Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, who opposed the Senate bill that passed in June, told reporters he intended to vote against the House-Senate compromise, as well.
Additionally, Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said she remained concerned about the impact that direct competition would have on premium prices.
The AARP's decision had been expected, particularly since Hastert and Frist met privately two weeks ago with AARP chief executive William D. Novelli, and the group won a number of late concessions from Republicans. These included additional funding for efforts to discourage private companies from dropping coverage for their retirees once the federal benefit begins.
Additionally, Republicans agreed to drop a provision in the Senate-passed bill that would have let employers give different benefits to early retirees than to former employees who have reached 65, the age of Medicare eligibility.
Still, Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle said the AARP could face a backlash from its own membership.
"Like the AARP's previous decision to support the 1988 catastrophic health bill, this is a mistake that does not serve the interests of its members," he said. "When seniors see the details of this Republican plan, the AARP will undoubtedly regret this ill-advised decision."
Novelli announced the decision to endorse the bill in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. He conceded the bill was not perfect, but added, "the country can't afford to wait for perfect."
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