White House Indicates It Will Compromise on Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Budget Amount
Members of the Bush administration on April 17 indicated that the White House is willing to compromise on a spending amount for a Medicare prescription drug benefit, Congressional Quarterly reports. In its budget resolution (H Con Res 353), the House has included $350 billion over 10 years for a drug benefit, more than the $190 billion over 10 years that the White House has proposed (Goldreich, Congressional Quarterly, 4/18). The Senate budget resolution (S Con Res 353) would allocate $500 billion over 10 years for a Medicare drug benefit (AP/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4/18). Speaking to the House Ways and Means Committee on April 17, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson said, "While we feel that we can provide this benefit for less than the $350 billion proposed by the House, let me make it clear that we are committed to the principle of a prescription drug benefit rather than to a specific figure." While Thompson spoke to the Ways and Means Committee, Mark McClellan, the White House health adviser, delivered the same message to the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee (Congressional Quarterly, 4/18).
Medicare Overhaul
Republicans and administration officials agreed at the hearings that enacting a drug benefit would not make sense unless the Medicare program is modernized. Thompson said, "It's clear that if we add a drug benefit without comprehensive modernization of the system, we will only deepen the financial crisis Medicare faces in coming years" (AP/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4/18). However, Democrats have said that the spending required for such an overhaul is "inconsistent" with Republicans' effort to pass laws making Bush's $1.3 trillion, 10-year tax cut package permanent (Congressional Quarterly, 4/18). House leaders said they hope by May 24 to move forward legislation that would reform Medicare and include a drug benefit (AP/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4/18). HealthCasts of the hearings are available online.
