Perspective               

The Bush Administration's Medicare-Related Problems

The Medicare legislation passed at the end of 2003 was initially seen as a triumph for President Bush and many Republicans. The legislation was a breakthrough in the long-running partisan debate over how to deliver prescription drug coverage to older and disabled Americans. However, for several reasons, the legislation has been anything but a victory for the Bush administration in recent months.

In Washington, DC, for example, some Democrats have demanded an investigation into charges that the Bush administration threatened to fire the chief actuary of the Medicare program last year if he gave Congress data on the higher-than-desired cost of the legislation. Withheld documents created by this actuary showed the Medicare bill costing at least $100 billion more than legislators were told it would cost before they voted to pass it.

Critics of the law are also upset about the Bush administration’s advertising campaign designed to reassure older Americans of the benefits of the bill. The General Accounting Office finally concluded in mid-March that the advertisements were misleading if not illegal.

Because of developments like these coming to light, more and more older and disabled people are becoming skeptical about the Medicare law and what it has to offer them. A variety of polls indicate that many of the nation’s Medicare consumers are wary and confused about the law. For example, a New York Times/CBS News poll found that 43 percent of those 65 and older said they thought Bush administration policies had, far from helping them, actually increased the cost of their health care.

If you have questions about how the Medicare law will affect you, visit Benefits Under the New Medicare Law.

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