House rejects Medicare drug plan means-testing. (I see stupid people!!)

THE WASHINGTON TIMES ^ | 8 Oct 03 | By Amy Fagan

[.cnI redruM]

House conservatives sought unsuccessfully this week to convince the House to endorse cutting the cost of a Medicare prescription-drug benefit by requiring wealthy seniors to pay more of their own drug costs.

The House on Tuesday defeated, on a 234-161 vote, a Republican motion that would have asked House and Senate negotiators to include "means-testing" as part of the new Medicare prescription-drug benefit Congress is trying to create.

[MainFrame65]

"... Rep. Jeff Flake, the Arizona Republican who offered the motion, says the only way to hold down costs is for means-testing to exclude the wealthiest seniors from the new drug benefit altogether. ..."

I hate that this is going to happen, because the drug benefit I have since retiring from IBM is much better than this sorry mess. But there is another way to "means test" the benefit, and that is to make it taxable income. Fot those paying tax at the lowest rates, or not at all, the burden would be small. For the wealthy, it would be more substantial. And that part of the tax could be earmarked for return to the program.

[.cnI redruM]

I could buy into progressively taxing the benefit....anything to keep it from eating the whole budget and leaving nothing for the people who still have to get up and go to work in the morning.

[jackbill]

I'm sure the Vanderbilts and The Rockefellers are delightful human beings. They just have no right to expect me to pay for their perscription drugs. Means testing is the only way to keep the major entitlement programs afloat. These cowards care only about the next election, not the future.

Do you typically engage in class warfare BS?

Both the House bill and the Senate bill - which are now in conference - require that 65% of the cost will be paid out of general revenue, i.e. basically the income tax. Who pays the most income tax? That's right, the "wealthy".

I'm sure that the "wealthy" would be happy to pay for their own prescriptions if they were absolved from paying for everybody elses.

[.cnI redruM]

I think the best alternative is to eat theis stupid bill for breakfast and s--- it out before lunch. I have no desire to buy anyone's prescription drugs. However, the concept of my tax dollars being confiscated by the government and used to buy anything for someone richer than me does rankle.

The concept of my tax dollars being confiscated to help the truely poor is mildly tolerable if it is done to a very limited extent.

I believe we will have to swallow this crap sandwhich because we lack the guts as a society to pass comprehensive tort reform. Therefore, the introduction of gimmicks like means-testing are the only viable recourse to keep from having to eat one more bite of crap than is absolutely necessary.

If I were rich, I would see no real reason to remain American.