Congress Moves to Save Its Own from Medicare "Reform"

If the Medicare prescription drug bills rushed through the House and Senate last week are so great, why is Congress already rushing to shield its staff and other federal employees from the fall-out?

Under speed-up procedures, the House yesterday passed a bill barring the government from reducing federal retiree drug benefits to the level proposed for Medicare recipients. The Senate is expected to follow suit soon.

What compels such swift action? As Robert Pear reported in Tuesday's New York Times: "The Medicare legislation ...gives private and public employers a powerful incentive to curtail drug benefits for retirees. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that one-third of retired employees with employer-sponsored drug coverage could lose it as a result of the legislation."

Members of Congress may be able to protect themselves, their staffers and other federal workers. But what about the millions of private-sector retirees who will lose their superior drug benefits if Congress sticks with its highly expensive, deeply flawed approach to Medicare reform?

For more information on why pending Medicare legislation is so disastrous and what Congress SHOULD do if it really wants to improve health care for the elderly, call Nicole Taylor at 202-608-6144 or Joe Dougherty at 202-608-6143..

(For an overview of the bill's major flaws, read this Detroit News <http://www.detnews.com/2003/editorial/0307/06/a10-209994.htm> editorial, "Drug Bill a Lousy Deal for Senior Citizens")