As Bush pushed Medicare bill he quietly worked to cut off seniors

[G_j]

THE DAILY MIS-LEAD
< http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1333383&l=45853 >
===============================

TRUTH EMERGES ABOUT BUSH MISLEADING ON MEDICARE

In pushing Congress to pass its controversial Medicare bill, President Bush
promised that "corporations have no intention to what they call 'dump
retirees'"<1> from their existing prescription drug coverage. But according
to a new report, Bush's own health officials estimate that millions will be
cut off from their existing drug coverage because of the new Medicare law.

According to government documents obtained by the New York Times, the Bush
Administration now estimates "that employers will reduce or eliminate
prescription drug benefits for 3.8 million retirees when Medicare offers
such coverage in 2006." That represents one-third of all the retirees with
employer-sponsored drug coverage. Medicare's new benefits are often less
comprehensive than those offered by employers.<2>

As reported in an earlier Daily Mislead,<3> even while Bush was reassuring
the nation about the Medicare bill, he was actually working to create an
incentive for employers to cut off seniors from existing coverage. According
to the Wall Street Journal, the Administration quietly added "a
little-noticed provision" to the bill that allows companies to severely
reduce - or almost completely terminate - their retirees' drug coverage
"without losing out on the new subsidy." In other words, the President did
not just break his promise to sign a bill that prevents seniors from losing
their existing drug coverage. He actually acted to reward companies who cut
off their retirees with a lavish new tax break. The companies that lobbied
for the provision donated almost $140,000 in hard money and $2.5 million in
soft money to Bush and his party since 2000.<4>

Sources:

1. Presidential Remarks, WhiteHouse.gov, 10/29/03,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1333383&l=45854.
2. "Medicare Law Is Seen Leading to Cuts in Drug Benefits for Retirees," New
York Times, 7/14/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1333383&l=45855.
3. "Bush Acts to Reward Companies Who Cut off Seniors' Drug Coverage,"
Misleader.org, 1/08/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1333383&l=45856.
4. Ibid, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1333383&l=45856.

Visit www.misleader.org for more about Bush Administration distortion »


===========================================================

[G_j]

1. kick

[TexasSissy]

2. Yes, I knew this. Anyone who listed to the debates on c-span learned this

We should not forget that John Breaux (D-La.) co-sponsored this bill. And Billy Tauzin (R-La.), another sponsor, now has a $2M/year cushy job with a pharmaceutical company.

[Karenina]

3. Well, isn't that

SPECIAL! :puke:

[prolesunited]

4. Incredible!

We have people complaining about welfare and free lunches for kids, but every time you turn around, they are giving BILLIONS of tax dollars to their corporate cronies.

Since it hasn't gone into effect yet, it still can be repealed, correct?

[Elidor]

5. Grandma Millie gets the shaft again

How utterly despicable. Even for Bush, this is low.