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Bush/PNAC administration’s policy and it’s effects on senior citizens.
 
- Bush Wants to Limit Seniors to Cheapest Drugs
Social Security faces crash - ‘To avoid such drastic measures, lawmakers have been discussing Social Security reforms for years.’ - ‘But progress has been especially slow under President Bush’ Medicare Aide Voices Doubts on Adding Drug Benefits - The top Medicare official said today that the Bush administration had "significant disagreements" with a bipartisan Senate proposal to add prescription drug benefits to Medicare, and he reaffirmed President Bush's desire to encourage elderly people to join private health plans by offering them extra drug benefits. Selling out Medicare - The quickest route to another breakdown, however, are the Bush principles of inequality and government favoritism. The plot to kill Social Security - Bush's tax cuts won't do much to create jobs or boost economic growth, but they will bankrupt the nation's retirement program Seniors May Find Drug Benefit Lacking - Seniors expecting a generous Medicare prescription drug benefit from Congress are likely to be disappointed. Most will find the government paying only a fraction of their pharmacy bills and far less than most working Americans have come to expect from private insurance. New Drug Plan Far From Cure-All, Retirees Find - "up in Washington, D.C., I don't think they care a rip about the senior citizens. If I went up there and had that bill written tomorrow, I would fix it to where senior citizens had their prescription drugs paid for. Not partial, but all of it. Now that's Vela's opinion." House Shields Federal Retirees - Drug Plans Surpass Medicare Reforms - TVNL comment: While the GOP Congress is trying to kill medicare they just made sure that they keep their own premium drug benifits after they retire! Pension rights for Indian elephants - Elephants employed by the state of Kerala in southern India are to be granted full retirement benefits at the age of 65. - TVNL comment: Maybe the GOP could take a lesson on how to treat seniors from the symbol of their own party! - GAO Warns Against Raising Age for Retirees - Social Security: Blue-collar workers would risk health problems as they aged, a report says. But even the fit face hardships once they reach well into their 60s.
Cancer Drugs Face Funds Cut in a Bush Plan - The Bush administration will soon propose significant cuts in Medicare payments for cancer drugs, based on new data suggesting that the government pays far more than the market price for such medicines, administration officials said today. Bush wants end to medicine subsidies - President George Bush has put the future of Australia's cheap pharmaceuticals in question, telling Prime Minister John Howard that raising their prices is a key goal for United States negotiators in any free trade deal. Medicare Reform: The Real Winners - In fact, there's a long list of people -- from insurance companies to prescription drug manufacturers -- who got exactly what they wanted, and then some. Magically enough, they also happen to be groups that have spent a ton of money financing political campaigns and then lobbying the members they helped elect. Pelosi: 'Republican Tactics on Medicare Bill Brought Dishonor to the House' - "If there was ever an argument to be made for why Republicans are not fit to be in the majority in this House and why they must be defeated at the polls next year, one need only look at their conduct on the floor of this House tonight. It brought dishonor to this institution. - "America's seniors will not be fooled. They know this is not the beginning of a real prescription drug benefit under Medicare. They know this is the beginning of the end of Medicare as we know it. Democrats and seniors will not stop fighting for a defined, affordable prescription drug benefit that is guaranteed under Medicare." Medicare Bill May Harm Cancer Care, Doctors Say - The Medicare legislation pending in the U.S. Congress may hinder senior citizens' access to cancer treatment next year by cutting payments for chemotherapy drugs, oncologists warned on Monday. AARP Faces Rebellion Within on Medicare - Many fear the Republican-backed bill approved by Congress on Tuesday will harm senior citizens, and they say the AARP - the nation's most influential retiree lobby, with 35 million members - sold them out. Seniors Skeptical Of Medicare Bill - Many Expect No Break on Cost of Pills - "Bush has conned the rest of the public into thinking it's for their benefit," said Sanford Goodman, 76, who retired to Palm Beach after practicing as a chiropractor in New York. "Over the long-term period, it's going to cost the retiree a lot more for their drugs." Florida Elderly Feel Let Down by Drug Benefit - They say they feel they were sold out, by Republicans and AARP, which endorsed a Medicare bill drafted mainly by Republicans. But the Democrats, they say, did not fight hard enough for a better drug benefit. New Medicare Bill Bars Extra Insurance for Drugs - Millions of Medicare beneficiaries have bought private insurance to fill gaps in Medicare. But a little-noticed provision of the legislation prohibits the sale of any Medigap policy that would help pay drug costs after Jan. 1, 2006, when the new Medicare drug benefit becomes available. Bush's Medicare scam - IT IS SUCH a simple word -- discount -- and therefore such a simple word to manipulate to the harm of consumers. - That is why the use -- or abuse -- of this word by President Bush is about to become a major element in the growing controversy over what exactly was in the Medicare legislation that Republicans rammed through the House and Senate this month on Bush's behalf and that got his enthusiastic signature in a White House ceremony that had Reelection Campaign stamped all over it. State Officials Are Cautious on Medicare Drug Benefit - Moreover, state officials say that some low-income people may see their benefits reduced because the private plans are likely to cover fewer drugs than some state programs. - "Customers used to getting a prescription drug covered with a co-payment of $6 will now be told that they owe $100 because the drug is not covered by their Medicare plan," - One of the biggest questions is whether seniors enrolled in Medicare drug plans can turn to state programs for drugs that are not covered by their plan. Bush Acts to Reward Companies Who Cut off Seniors' Drug Coverage - But just three months after Bush's pledge, the Wall Street Journal now reports that the White House 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."3 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 Unlocked Box - How Bush is plundering Social Security to close the deficit - The International Monetary Fund, which usually frets about runaway fiscal policies in developing countries, yesterday released a report that warned of the dangers to the global economy posed by the United States' lack of spending discipline, its reliance on foreign creditors, and its failure to plan adequately for future government liabilities. - TVNL Comment: That report is available here. Congressman under fire for job offer - Drug industry offer follows Tauzin's work on Medicare law - A congressman who played a leading role in drafting legislation that introduced a prescription drug benefit to Medicare is under fire for considering a job offer from the pharmaceutical industry -- which stands to benefit from the new law. - Louisiana Rep. Billy Tauzin, a Republican, spent months negotiating the bill to overhaul Medicare, often meeting in the basement of the Capitol with a small group of lawmakers, administration officials and industry groups. A Watchdog Sees Flaws in Bush's Ads on Medicare - The General Accounting Office, an investigative arm of Congress, said on Wednesday that advertisements and brochures prepared by the Bush administration to publicize a new Medicare law, although not illegal, misrepresented the prescription drug benefits that would be offered to millions of elderly and disabled people. Commission to Allow Insurance Cuts for Retired Employees - The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission voted Thursday to allow employers to reduce or eliminate health benefits for retirees when they become eligible for Medicare at age 65. -The vote was 3 to 1, with Republicans lining up in favor of the rule and a Democrat opposing it. - TVNL Comment: GOP motto: We got ours, you get yours! Paralyzing seniors with choice - NEXT TIME the government comes up with a program for senior citizens, may I suggest testing it on some human subjects? - Alas, "amazing" is not the word most seniors are using. Try "overwhelming," "confusing," or "frustrating." As one 91-year-old in Cleveland told a reporter, "You'll have to hire a $500-an-hour attorney to find out if you'll save 5 cents." Medical costs eat at Social Security - With a new Medicare drug benefit set to begin in 2006, Americans 65 and older can expect to spend a large and growing share of their Social Security checks on Medicare premiums and expenses, previously undisclosed federal data show. - Information the Bush administration excluded from its 2004 report on the Medicare program shows that a typical 65-year-old can expect to spend 37% of his or her Social Security income on Medicare premiums, co-payments and out-of-pocket expenses in 2006. That share is projected to grow to almost 40% in 2011 and nearly 50% by 2021.
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