Democrats: Medicare bill doesn't do enough
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congressional Democrats ramped up their criticism of newly passed Medicare legislation Saturday, warning that it will not control soaring prescription drug prices.
Rep. John Tanner, D-Tennessee, designated to deliver the party's weekly radio address, said the GOP-led measure "would do little to address the cost of drugs."
The $395 billion bill pushed by President Bush and GOP leaders in Congress includes a new prescription drug benefit for 40 million older and disabled Americans.
The Senate passed it on a 55-44 vote on Tuesday, just days after the House, in its longest roll call in history, narrowly approved it 220 to 215 after a three-hour roll call. Such votes usually take 15 minutes.
Democrats remain concerned about several provisions and Tanner listed several criticisms. For one, he said, the bill "fails to deliver a meaningful guaranteed drug benefit in Medicare and starts toward privatizing the program."
Also, "for the first time, it calls for capping the cost of Medicare, even as it offers huge new subsidies for HMOs," he said.
The legislation would require older Americans with annual incomes exceeding $80,000 to pay higher premiums under Medicare Part B, which covers services outside the hospital. Also, it would establish new tax-preferred health accounts, open to individuals with high-deductible insurance policies.
Tanner said the Medicare bill prohibits the government from using the purchasing power of 40 million Medicare beneficiaries to negotiate lower prices.
"Many of us continue to believe the best way to guarantee affordable prescription drug coverage for all Medicare beneficiaries is make the coverage part of Medicare, like doctor visits and hospital services," he said.
Democrats already have introduced legislation to repeal several of the bill's most controversial provisions and to allow importation of lower-priced prescription drugs from Canada and Western Europe.
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