Correctly listed, the costly Prescription Drug Benefit is about to be accomplished and incorrectly listed, the Medicare privatization has yet to be accomplished.
No, if the House Conferees make a path to an alternative, privately administered Medical Savings vehicle a requisite part of any final bill emerging from Conference, there will be no prescription drug benefit. Any movement to privatization would blow up the Senate compromise. One lefty Democrat will filibuster any mandate toward a Privately Administered personal Medical investment vehicle. They cannot permit their stranglehold on our Health Care delivery to be threatened. That's the Golden Goose of the Nanny State.
So, the last two guys who enabled the House Bill to pass may have killed the bloated scheme completely. If the House bill didn't pass by one vote, the Senate bill would have been offered with total Senate language and it would have been politically impossible for most politicians to vote a Prescription gift for the greedy geezers down flat.
The Democrats need to justify killing the drug benefit in order to deny young Americans an alternative, privately delivered annuity account for late life Medical care. They'll kill the House bill in Committee rather than accept some compromise on the privatization that would spark a filibuster by one of the goats like Kennedy, Schumer, Byrd or Leahy.
Every Freeper should contact their House representative, Chairman Thomas, Speaker Hastert and Bwana DeLay and DEMAND that they make the privatization module sacrosanct in Committee. It's a rather timid start anyway, and it is to be guarded like their children. The Senate bill is unacceptable as written. If the House GOP conferees capitulate on this part of their bill ... I'll be the first on this forum to join the chorus of contempt and outrage. They can't pull a "Frenchie" like they did on vouchers in last years Education Bill.