SENATE ON VERGE OF PASSING ANOTHER UN-READ BILL

[Guest guest]

Association of American Physicians & Surgeons The Voice for PrivatePhysicians Since 1943www.aapsonline.orgFuzzy senior "Rx Drug Plan" being rushed through Senate based on "feelings,"not numbers1. Senate on verge of passing catastrophic change without time to read thebill.2. Ranking member cites "alignment of stars" & "feelings" as reasons topass.3. Could push seniors out of private plans onto taxpayers' tab.4. ACTION NEEDED! Tell Senators to slow down and take time for debate.SENATE ON VERGE OF PASSING ANOTHER UN-READ BILLJune 11, 2003 -- On Tuesday night, the Senate received a 70-page outline ofthe bipartisan compromise Medicare prescription drug plan, "The PrescriptionDrug and Medicare Improvement Act of 2003."Let me emphasize OUTLINE, because the specific language of the bill has notbeen finalized.But that isn't stopping the Senate Finance Committee from holding anExecutive Session and voting on it Thursday morning. It is expected to hitthe Senate floor on Monday, June 16.SENATOR CITES "STAR ALIGNMENT" AND "GOOD FEELINGS" AS REASONS TO PASSRanking member of the Finance Committee, Max Baucus (D-MT ) admitted in astatement this week that "some may take issue with the speed of ourdeliberations," and that he would like to hold up the bill until there arefirm cost estimates.In his statement, committee chairman, Charles Grassley (R-IA), claims thebill "gets the most bang for our buck," but offers no figures to back thatup.Despite these concerns, both urge action. Says Baucus, "Sometimes therecomes a time when you fish or cut bait..This year, the stars are aligned..Ihave a good feeling about the progress we've made."What Sen. Baucus really means is that there is $400 billion of your moneysitting on the table available for them spend on this new benefit. And he'safraid if they don't grab the money now - even for what he admits is aseriously flawed bill - they may not get another go-round at the money grabthis session. (Read both statements athttp://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/press.htm)TAXPAYER NUMBERS DON'T LOOK GOODSince we don't know the details yet, we can't comment on the merits. Butwhat we do know so far is that the bill would create a UNIVERSAL governmentplan that would act as a floor, rather than ceiling, for private plans.That means that lower-cost private plans that offer basic coverage would nolonger be allowed to do so - they would have to match the government plan,giving seniors little or no choice of type of plans to choose.Further, this means that we can expect a massive exodus as people bail outof private coverage they now hold and run to the taxpayer-funded entitlementinstead - "a profound mistake" according to Heritage Foundation and theNational Center for Policy Analysis. According to the Joint EconomicCommission, 78% of seniors already have private prescription coverage.Expect taxpayers to start footing the bills for them.TELL SENATORS TO THINK BEFORE THEY SPEND YOUR MONEYWe will keep you posted on specifics of the bill as they become available,but in the meantime, tell your Senators to take their time on this bill.This is a massive change to an already severely flawedprogram. One way or another, we will be paying for it for the rest of ourlives. (Remember, the original 1965 estimates for Medicare costs are aminuscule percentage of our current reality.)Ask them to allow enough time to:--Read the bill--Allow for public debate--Allow for debate on the floor.This is too important to rush!Senate switchboard: (202) 224 - 2131Be At Peace,Deborah A DelpMother to:Samantha (8, ADHD/ODD)JR (5, ASD)