Bush to Propose Changes in Medicare Plan

Yahoo News! ^ | 01/04/03 | Robert Pear - NY Times

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 With the new Senate majority leader as a powerful ally, President Bush (news - web sites) will propose sweeping, long-term changes in Medicare later this month when he urges Congress to provide prescription drug benefits for the elderly, administration officials say.

In the last three weeks, the president has told his advisers and Congressional leaders that he wants to promote competition in Medicare to shore up the program for 76 million baby boomers and to establish his credentials on an issue likely to figure prominently in the 2004 election.

Administration officials said Mr. Bush's vision for Medicare closely resembled proposals advanced in the last three years by Senator Bill Frist, the Tennessee Republican who is to become majority leader when Congress convenes on Tuesday. While Mr. Bush had been drafting his own proposals, administration officials and Congressional aides said Dr. Frist's elevation enhanced the prospect that they would be taken seriously on Capitol Hill.

[NormsRevenge]

This is a re-post.

Here, here , and here.