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Washington faces two pressing tasks — getting a handle on escalating federal debt and addressing the country's unemployment crisis. Unfortunately, the White House, thanks to its usual ideological blinders, has come up with a plan that will actually cost jobs — even as it achieves only trifling savings. The proposal, which Team Obama has now forwarded to the supercommittee charged with coming up with $1.6 trillion in savings over the next decade, is to extend Medicaid-style manufacturers' rebates to part of the Medicare Part D program. The proposal affects the so-called "dual eligibles," those eligible for Medicaid but who obtain...

Four years into full operation, President George W. Bush's Medicare prescription drug program is coming in well below its projected cost, giving hope to backers of the new health insurance law that it, too, could beat budget expectations.The numbers are stark and conclusive: In 2009, the government spent $60.8 billion on the drug benefit, or far less than the annual $111.2 billion cost projected just five years ago, after the program was enacted.The lower cost - a result of slowing demand for prescription drugs, higher use of generic drugs and fewer people signing up - has surprised even some of...

ST. PAUL, Minn. --Retired furniture store owner Don Brock quit buying prescription drugs from Canada this year, now that he's signed up for the new federal Medicare drug benefit. The next time he needs a refill on Lipitor, his daily anti-cholesterol drug, Brock will go to a pharmacy near his home in Litchfield. The 74-year-old says he was saving about $300 annually buying Canadian; now, he figures he'll save about $500 buying through Medicare. Canada is losing traction as a source of cheaper prescription drugs for many Americans. Cross-border sales have fallen as much as 30 percent, according to the...

PCMA Analysis Finds Medicare Prescription Drug Discounts 'Real & Holding Steady' in First 30 Days2/7/2006 11:13:00 AM To: National and Business Desks, Health Reporter Contact: Phil Blando of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, 202-207-3614 WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 /U.S. Newswire/ -- One month into the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, discounts on the top 25 drugs prescribed to seniors and the disabled are holding steady with an average 35 percent savings on drugs purchased at a retail pharmacy compared to cash-paying customers and 46 percent for drugs purchased through the mail-service pharmacy option, according to a new analysis of Medicare...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in an appearance Friday flanked by Democratic and Republican legislators, used the signing ceremony for a prescription drug bill to push his newest campaign -- the joys of bipartisanship in Sacramento. "I'm the people's governor. I'm the governor of the Democrats and the Republicans. So I cannot just cater to one party,'' said Schwarzenegger, during a stop at an Alameda Safeway. The governor, criticized throughout the past year for blasting Democrats and trying to play to a conservative audience, has changed his talk in light of his devastating defeat in last November's special election. On Friday, he...

NATIONAL CITY – Even if it works as it should, Medicare's Part D drug program for low-income seniors and disabled patients is so flawed that it must be scrapped, patients, doctors and lawmakers said during an emotional rally yesterday. "You guys got to admit you made a mistake and repeal this damn thing," Rep. Bob Filner told Medicare regional administrator Jeff Flick, who had come from San Francisco to the Kimball Senior Center to defend the federal government's plan. "I want you to sit in my office and hear (patients') calls. What are you going to do when people start...

SACRAMENTO – The new Medicare prescription drug program was supposed to save California $120 million this year. Instead, the state has had to earmark $150 million to help low-income Californians pay for drugs they've been denied as a result of bureaucratic foul-ups. Even if the Medicare drug program begins operating smoothly, it is projected to cost the state an additional $59 million this fiscal year and more money each subsequent year because of flaws in the federal funding formula. "We don't think it's fair," said Stan Rosenstein, deputy director of medical care services for the state Department of Health Services....

Confusion greets drug-plan sign-up Legislators, consumer groups balk at Medicare Part D By Kristen Gerencher, MarketWatch Last Update: 7:29 PM ET Nov. 15, 2005 SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- A dizzying array of options in the new Medicare prescription-drug benefit is confusing many beneficiaries who don't have enough time to make the decision without incurring a financial penalty, a group of lawmakers charged Tuesday. U.S. Sens. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., along with U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and Pete Stark, D-Calif., announced legislation that would give Medicare beneficiaries a full year to choose a Medicare...