Kennedy vows filibuster of Medicare bill. Massachusetts Democrat says House 'rigged vote'

CNN Washington Bureau ^ | Saturday, November 22, 2003 Posted: 10:23 PM EST | From Ted Barrett

[.cnI redruM]

The House of Representatives passed the Medicare bill Saturday after nearly three hours of voting.

VIDEO CNN's Kathleen Koch has the latest on the Medicare bill passed by the House.

President Bush pushes Congress to pass a Medicare overhaul that would add prescription drug coverage.

[.cnI redruM]

Bush will never exhaust Kennedy's hot air supply. We are temporarily saved from the prescription drug idiocy act!!

[anniegetyourgun]

I do hope Teddy drives this bill off a bridge. He can then go home, sleep it off, and call his lib/dem consituents in the morning to explain himself.

[Peach]

This is a lousy bill and as reported in the WSJ, the more seniors learn about this bill, the less they like it.

[Ganndy]

This is a lousy bill...

Is that why it is endorsed by AARP?

Out

[Mo1]

Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts said Saturday that he and presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry, also of Massachusetts, will filibuster the Medicare bill.

Go for it Teddy

[Peach]

From a synopsis of the bill in various newspapers, I can see the federal government intends to PAY employers not to drop retiree prescription drug coverage.

Memo to federal government: retiree benefits are written contracts and difficult to drop unless the company goes bankrupt, etc.

This from a synopsis of the bill: Retiree coverage-Would provide tax-free subsidies, perhaps worth as much as $70 billion, to employers who maintain drug coverage for retirees once Medicare drug benefit begins in 2006.

[Peach]

Many seniors already have prescription drug plans which pay far more than this plan will pay. It is anticipated by Wall Street and other analysts that once this bill passes, companies will decide it's cheaper to drop the coverage than accept the goverment's bribe to keep the coverage.

From a synopsis of the bill:

MAIN DRUG BENEFIT:

Beginning in 2006, Medicare beneficiaries could sign up for a stand-alone drug plan or join a private health plan that offers drug coverage. They would be charged an estimated premium of $35 per month, or $420 per year. After meeting a $250 deductible, insurance would pay 75 percent of drug costs up to $2,250.

[Peach]

The NYT and AARP have endorsed this plan. They are the most liberal organizations in America. If they like it, I automatically don't.

[texastoo]

They will have to pay $35/mo. even if they don't need drugs.

[FirstPrinciple]

There are a couple of things I find distressing about this situation.

"The president and I had a conversation, and I did what I think was the right thing for the country," a visibly distressed Franks told a reporter while leaving the Capitol.

Why is he distressed if he thinks he did the right thing for the country?

Otter said House Republican leaders pulled him and six other conservatives into a small room and told them that if they didn't support the bill, moderate Republicans would move to take up the original Senate bill, which some consider more liberal.

Who are these House Republican leaders who are essentially blackmailing conservatives? Why didn't the conservatives in question here let the RINOs bring up the liberal bill so the rest of the GOP could vote against it?

[Peach]

This is the only thing Bush has done that makes me question his judgment and motivation.

Bribing companies to KEEP retiree benefits, which they are already legally required to keep barring a catastrope like corporate bankruptcy, is NOT good, conservative policy.

[demkicker]

The NYT and AARP have endorsed this plan. They are the most liberal organizations in America. If they like it, I automatically don't.

Ditto, your good instincts.

[FirstPrinciple]

They should have just kept the prescription drug provisions to be optional and seniors who want coverage have to pay extra for it. In exchange, govt can collectively bargain. The thing that really troubles me is that it may not be profitable to be in this business in the long run if govt imposes some kind of price ceiling, which I am sure is coming soon. What will the govt do if companies get out of the Medicare business completely? One cannot have competition in the marketplace with the amount of constraints from the government. Maybe the optimal point is not to get into the business.

[Reagan is King]

ACKKK! I'm on the same side of a bill as Swimmer Kennedy? This can't be.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Many seniors already have prescription drug plans which pay far more than this plan will pay. It is anticipated by Wall Street and other analysts that once this bill passes, companies will decide it's cheaper to drop the coverage than accept the goverment's bribe to keep the coverage.

Whether you support the bill or not, this statement is not true. For the past decade, the private sector has been steadily terminating retiree medical coverage, including that for prescription drugs.

There's no reason to "bribe" the government...if you've already kicked this expense off the company's balance sheet.

[Sub-Driver]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1027659/posts

9 Dems are on board.....

[LexBaird]

Kennedy vows filibuster of Medicare bill. Massachusetts Democrat says House 'rigged vote'

And Teddy is an acknowledged expert on rigged votes.

I wonder if he sees the irony of using "filibuster" and "rigged vote" in the same diatribe?

[Texas Eagle]

They will have to pay $35/mo. even if they don't need drugs.

35 bucks a month? Shoot. They'll have to switch from playing the dollar slots to the quarter slots.

[putupon]

GO TEDDY, GO!!!

The Rascally Republicans are stealing ya'lls' socialist agenda!

[Peach]

From a synopsis of the bill: Would provide tax-free subsidies, worth as much as $70b, to employers who maintain drug coverage for retirees once Medicare drug benefits begins in 2006.

Companies who ALREADY have retiree benefit coverage cannot drop their current retirees barring a catastrophic event.

With this bribe from the federal government, the bean counters will decide they can do without the goverment's money and will drop the coverage and let seniors pick up the government's program.

The program itself has a coverage gap (also from the synopsis): "No coverage for drug costs between $2,250 and $3,600 out of pocket".

Do you know how quickly seniors reach that gap? I'm a relatively healthy early retiree (still in 40's) with an older husband and we EASILY surpass those numbers - each.

After meeting a $250 deductible, insurance would pay 75% of drug costs up to $2,250. I don't call that a good plan AT ALL.

I don't remember if it was this article or another one, but one of several articles printed today on FR mentions repeatedly that the more seniors learn about this bill, the more they don't want it.