 |
 |
|
 |
|
Bush Campaign Ads . . . Brought to You by Special Interests
As President Bush's $10.5 million campaign ad blitz begins, Public Citizen released a report outlining who helped pay for the campaign ads and what favors they have received during his presidency.
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
No Child Left Behind? The Funding Gap in ESEA and Other Federal Education Programs
The current reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), raises high expectations for achievement and imposes stringent measures of accountability on students, teachers, and schools.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
November 3, 2003
Bush Claims to Keep Costs Under Control Not Built Into Prescription Drug Benefit
Congress is near agreement on Medicare reform that includes much of President Bush's plan, which he has said addresses the need to "protect seniors from high medical costs that can rob them of their savings."1 The President's plan, however, avoids market-based solutions pursued by some states, and federal programs that reduce costs for veterans.
President Bush's top Medicare official, Thomas Scully, has called the prescription drug provision "a spectacular health benefit.'' But the legislation includes a provision, now called the "donut," that eliminates coverage for drug costs incurred between $2,200 and $5,000.2
The legislation prohibits Medicare from "interfering" to lower drug prices by negotiating or implementing a price structure, counting on proliferation of private plans competing against each other to keep costs down.4 The prohibition was cited by a new academic study released Friday, which suggested that pharmaceutical companies stood to make a profit of at least $139 billion over eight years if the Bush plan is passed.4
To address high drug costs, the federal government has in the past set ceilings for veterans' health care, and for the Defense Department, and Medicaid. The Veterans' Affairs Department, for example, pays an average of $45 for a $100 drug.5
States are considering new ways of reducing the cost of drugs by importing them from Canada. Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich commissioned a study that found that the state could save $91 million annually, almost 16 percent of its annual drug costs, and that it could be done safely, a chief concern of the administration.6 The White House threatened to veto the Medicare reform bill earlier this summer when the House passed a similar provision.
Sources:
- Presidential Speech, 6/6/03.
- "Critics Mull Medicare Drug Benefit Plan," Associated Press, 11/2/03.
- "61 percent of Medicare's New Prescription Drug Subsidy is Windfall Profit to Drug Makers," Health Care Reform Program, Boston University School of Public Health, 10/31/03.
- Drugmakers' Profits May Soar, Washington Post, 10/31/03, A5.
- "Prescription Drugs," Center for Policy Alternatives.
- "Illinois Seeks Permission to Buy Drugs," New York Times, 10/27/03.
Send the Misleader to a Friend | Print It | Misleader Archive
|
|
