Posted on 11/25/2006 9:36:24 PM PST by airedale
It sounded simple enough on the campaign trail: Free the government to negotiate lower drug prices and use the savings to plug a big gap in Medicare's new prescription-drug benefit. But as Democrats prepare to take control of Congress, they are struggling to keep that promise without wrecking a program that has proven cheaper and more popular than anyone imagined.
House Democrats have vowed to act quickly after taking power in January to lift a ban on Medicare negotiations with drugmakers, which they hope will save as much as $190 billion over a decade. But House leaders have yet to settle on a strategy and acknowledge that negotiation is, in any case, unlikely to generate sufficient savings to fill the "doughnut hole," the much-criticized gap in coverage that forces millions of seniors to pay 100 percent of drug costs for a few weeks or months each year.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Some of the media outlets are abandoning their pullout immediately rhetoric or at least issuing cautions. Now that the election is over they are questioning this major plank of the DemoRat election victory. Why should anyone be surprised that this happened?
How much cheaper than walmart's $4 can you get ?
Further, the private sector like humana, and United already negotiate with the drug companies.
Who is better ? Free market competition or government bureaucrats ?
"But House leaders have yet to settle on a strategy and acknowledge that negotiation is, in any case, unlikely to generate sufficient savings to fill the "doughnut hole," the much-criticized gap in coverage that forces millions of seniors to pay 100 percent of drug costs for a few weeks or months each year."
When will people figure out that if seniors don't pay for their own drugs, it is the taxpayer that will pay for their drugs?
It's a cultural thing, they believe in their rich Uncle Sam who can give money endlessly with out taking money from anyone (except the evil Rich) and they believe in the Social Security Trust Fund which will never run out of money and they believe if you give the public schools enough money all the children will learn to read.
You mess with peoples illusions at your peril ask any politician.
Say it ain't so.
One does get tired of being associated with the Stupid Party. This new entitlement program has worked so well the Rs lost the House and Senate. And steel tariffs really paid off in PA with Santorum's loss.
And the Stupid Party is so stupid, they can't figure out what to do now even though the Dems have been doing it to them for a dozen years now. It is truly pathetic. Why does my side have to be so stupid? I guess that makes me stupid too. F'em.
you don't get to stop providing without giving back what you asked for in the first place.
and yes, 15% of my lifetime income, from the time i was 16 until 65, would be far more then enough to cover retirement (even if it only made 5% interest).
You got that last part of your post so right. You bash the president at every turn and wonder why the stupid people listened and voted dem. Just keep bashing away at the President and the Republicans. It's such a brilliant strategy.
Sure it is nice to say give me what we agreed upon.
Social Security was a fine idea as long as the majority of people were kind enough to die before they could collect. But you old folks aren’t so accommodating anymore.
So what is going to happen real soon when the baby boomers start to retire? When the SS surplus erodes to nothing and budget deficits balloon out of control.
You can bet that they won’t cut spending or social programs. There is already talk of increasing the SS retirement age.
For me early retirement now is 65 ½ full at 67. I expect before I actually retire that will be pushed back probably to 72.
At this point I would be extactic to have the Bush Social Security reform plan passed. Let me put half or even a quarter of my SS “Contribution” in a retirement account. At least with some part of my money being “Mine” I would have some hope of reaping some benefit of those hard earned dollars.
With Social Security as it exist now I really do not expect to see any of that money ever again. I certainly do not plan as if those SS payments will ever arrive in my bank account.
I really do believe that Social Security is a Ponsi sceme and that my generation and those that follow are the Patsies. And I KNOW that the Social Security Trust Fund is a myth.
no matter how often they push the mindset that there won't be money for my generation, they won't get away with it. hell, i've already put in about 200k... just that money straight would be fine. 50% of people never make it to retirement (life expectantcy == median point). 50% of those that make it that far, won't make it 10 years. Odds are definitely stacked against people to get the money.
hell... when I kick, I would sure as hell expect it to go to my estate for my kids (yea, like that'd ever happen)
Exactly!!
I backed the President's tax cuts. I backed the President's judicial picks save for the exceptionally unqualified Harriet Miers. I've backed the Iraq war all along. I had a sign in my yard that read "Free Iraq" before the war. We can still win this thing. It's the President who's going to lose it and slink away, not me. Iraq will turn into a terrorist base that'll make Afghanistan look like Disney Land. North Korea has got nukes on his watch. And if Iran gets the bomb, as looks likely, he'll go down as a worse president than Jimmy Carter, maybe the worst ever.
So, yeah, I did get the last part of my post right, f'em.
If you're a liberal, it's nanny, if your a Conservative it's the free market which offers a product free of political skimming costs.
When they all study economics 101 and realize that nothing is free.
You know nothing about Harriet Meiers. About the same as what you KNOW about the President slinking away from Iraq.
I know how to spell her name, which is more than can be said for you. You and the Stupid Party are perfect for each other.
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