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January 18, 2006
A Disaster In The Making
On January 1st, the much heralded (or pilloried) Medicare prescription drug benefit went into effect -- a big deal for millions of American seniors. Remember this one? It's the $400 billion drug company bonanza that was shoved through the Congress by GOP leadership over two years ago.
Guess what? There are big problems. Apparently, many low-income beneficiaries are being overcharged, or even turned away when their enrollment cannot be confirmed. In some 20 states, state government has had to step in and pay drug claims supposed to be covered by the feds.
In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stated that the new federal drug program is operating with an error rate of 20% -- high, even by government standards. His state has already had to pay some 34,000 claims the feds failed to cover.
The private insurance companies, who actually administer the new benefit for the federal government, say they're open to reimbursing state governments for the payouts they have had to make, but foresee disputes because states apparently cover more than the insurers would.
More bloated, government incompetence, ladies and gentlemen, brought to you by today's Republican Party. These guys have dramatically increased the size of government (can you say Homeland Security?), run up historic deficits, and just aren't getting the job done.
Once again, Democrats are presented with a real political opportunity. Seniors tend to notice when they can't get their medicines, or if the out of pocket costs skyrocket; oh, and they vote. Competence should be a major theme for Democrats in this fall's midterm election. Will they seize the day?
Posted by houtopia at January 18, 2006 12:57 PM