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Medicare Threatened by Giveaway to HMOs, Drug Industry
CWA President Morton Bahr said changes to the Medicare program approved by Congress are a massive giveaway to insurance companies, HMOs and the drug industry that will squander billions of Medicare dollars.
The Senate, by a 54-44 vote, joined the House in adopting the program pushed by the Bush administration.
"Seniors who have been promised relief from prescription drug costs that can exceed hundreds of dollars a month will be disillusioned as they learn how paltry the Medicare assistance actually will be," said Bahr, who noted that benefits will not be available to seniors until 2006.
"The big winners are the pharmaceutical and insurance industries, which will receive big subsidies and a guarantee that the federal government won't be able to negotiate drug prices for Medicare recipients," he added.
This plan actually is a back door attempt by Republicans to weaken the safety net of Medicare for seniors, without seeming to attack the very popular program, Bahr said.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, who led the fight in the Senate to reject these changes, said the proposal would bring about "the unraveling of the Medicare system," because of the huge subsidies allotted to private insurers. Some 40 million seniors are now covered by the Medicare program.
Bahr also pointed out that CWA employers that provide a prescription drug benefit for retired workers have said this plan will not reduce their costs. "In fact, this plan provides absolutely no relief for responsible employers who help provide health care and drug coverage for employees and retirees in reducing or slowing the skyrocketing rate of health care and drug costs."
The plan will be an incentive to some employers to discontinue prescription drug coverage, Bahr warned. "This means at least 2 to 3 million seniors will actually be worse off, forced to rely on an inadequate Medicare benefit."
Millions more seniors will incur health care costs as the dollars that should support Medicare services "are siphoned off by HMOs and the drug industry, all thanks to the Bush administration's determination to reward its industry friends," he said.
The Senate, by a 54-44 vote, joined the House in adopting the program pushed by the Bush administration.
"Seniors who have been promised relief from prescription drug costs that can exceed hundreds of dollars a month will be disillusioned as they learn how paltry the Medicare assistance actually will be," said Bahr, who noted that benefits will not be available to seniors until 2006.
"The big winners are the pharmaceutical and insurance industries, which will receive big subsidies and a guarantee that the federal government won't be able to negotiate drug prices for Medicare recipients," he added.
This plan actually is a back door attempt by Republicans to weaken the safety net of Medicare for seniors, without seeming to attack the very popular program, Bahr said.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, who led the fight in the Senate to reject these changes, said the proposal would bring about "the unraveling of the Medicare system," because of the huge subsidies allotted to private insurers. Some 40 million seniors are now covered by the Medicare program.
Bahr also pointed out that CWA employers that provide a prescription drug benefit for retired workers have said this plan will not reduce their costs. "In fact, this plan provides absolutely no relief for responsible employers who help provide health care and drug coverage for employees and retirees in reducing or slowing the skyrocketing rate of health care and drug costs."
The plan will be an incentive to some employers to discontinue prescription drug coverage, Bahr warned. "This means at least 2 to 3 million seniors will actually be worse off, forced to rely on an inadequate Medicare benefit."
Millions more seniors will incur health care costs as the dollars that should support Medicare services "are siphoned off by HMOs and the drug industry, all thanks to the Bush administration's determination to reward its industry friends," he said.