Medicare plan draws Dems' ire

Only two Democrats back the plan, though others are expected to follow.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush and congressional Republican leaders are selling their new Medicare prescription-drug plan, but so far, not many Democrats are buying.
"I believe it will not pass the United States Senate in its current form," Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., said Sunday, signaling a politically charged struggle when the GOP tries to push legislation to passage beginning this week.
It is a battle Bush appears eager to join after leaving subordinates to work with lawmakers across months of wrangling on the details.
"I know I will be actively pushing the bill, because it conforms to the principles I laid out of prescription drugs for our seniors: choice for seniors, accountability for the Medicare plan," the president told reporters at the White House.
The legislation would create a prescription-drug benefit for 40 million elderly and disabled Medicare beneficiaries beginning in 2006. Participants would be offered a chance to buy coverage at a monthly premium of $35, with a $275 deductible, a gap in coverage and protection against extremely high annual expenses.
At the same time, the bill would establish a new role for private health plans in Medicare, encouraging them to offer seniors the choice of receiving coverage under managed care plans such as preferred provider organizations. That system encourages use of certain doctors but allows patients to go elsewhere if they pay extra.
Scant Democratic support
Republican congressional leaders sealed a tentative agreement Saturday with two Democrats, Sens. John Breaux of Louisiana and Max Baucus of Montana. Their next step is to await word from budget experts to make sure the measure doesn't exceed the $400 billion, 10-year price limit that Bush imposed earlier this year in requesting legislation.
After that, the leaders can see whether the political and policy calculations they made hold up.
In five months of bargaining, the GOP leaders struggled to write a bill that could appeal to enough conservatives to clear the House, while gaining enough support from moderate Democratic senators to avoid a filibuster.
At the same time, they avidly courted the support of the AARP, with 35 million members age 50 and over, and already have picked up support from the American Medical Association and American Hospital Association.
Other than Breaux and Baucus, no congressional Democrat voiced support for the legislation over the weekend, although others are expected. "Many will reach the decision that this is better to pass than not to pass," Baucus predicted.
Neither Kennedy nor Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle has yet threatened a filibuster -- a tactic that requires bill supporters to gain 60 votes to prevail. But neither found much to like in the proposed legislation, to judge by their rhetoric.
"It keeps drug prices high, causes 2 [million] to 3 million retirees to lose drug coverage, and coerces seniors into HMOs," Daschle, D-S.D., said.
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