• Bait and switch Bait and switch Overnight, the estimated cost of providing prescription drugs for America’s elderly ballooned from $400 billion to $534 billion over 10 years. President George W. Bush had threatened to veto any Medicare drug bill
• Bait and switch
Bait and switch
Overnight, the estimated cost of providing prescription drugs for America’s elderly ballooned from $400 billion to $534 billion over 10 years.
President George W. Bush had threatened to veto any Medicare drug bill that cost more than $400 billion. But he lobbied hard for this bill, calling congressional leaders to the White House to urge its passage. Now that the projected cost has increased by about one-third, he’s taking flak from all sides.
Bad enough that some of Bush’s conservative base feels it was hoodwinked into supporting the bill; conservatives had been concerned about creating an expensive new entitlement. Even more difficult for Bush must be the criticism from Democrats. They had all along argued for spending far more than Bush on the drug benefit, and that he had grossly understated the true cost of the benefit.
As important as the final cost of the bill is the amount of assistance it provides. And although the price tag has grown out of control, the benefits remain inadequate.
All this will add to the pressure to revisit the Medicare drug bill. Even some groups that backed the bill — most notably the AARP — are now asking Congress to fix some of its most flawed provisions. By removing some protections for big drug makers, Congress can improve benefits without adding too much to the bottom line.
But no one should assume that fulfilling this promise to the elderly will be inexpensive, especially after 2011 when the first baby boomers begin to retire.
The new, “enhanced” price tag slipped out last week in advance of the president’s 2005 budget. But the administration had known for months that the “$400 billion” Medicare drug bill it was lobbying for would, in fact, cost in excess of $500 billion over the first 10 years. The Washington Post reported last week that detailed financial analyses from as far back as June 11 put the bill’s cost at about $550 billion over 10 years.
On Sunday, senior administration officials blamed Congress for greatly underestimating the bill’s cost. But Bush can hardly claim to be blameless in that area. Not only did he not disclose what he knew about the bill’s true cost — which would likely have killed it — he lobbied for provisions that actually increased the cost.
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
