News Analysis: Medicare overhaul big boost for Bush re-election bid

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 27, 2003

News Analysis: Medicare overhaul big boost for Bush re-election bid

When US President George W. Bush celebrates this year's Thanksgiving at his Texas ranch Thursday, he will have something to thank for: a present from the Republican-controlled Congress.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

When US President George W. Bush celebrates this year's Thanksgiving at his Texas ranch Thursday, he will have something to thank for: a present from the Republican-controlled Congress.

The present was timely not only for the Thanksgiving, but also for his 2004 re-election campaign. He will sign a historic Medicare bill just months before voters go to polling stations to decide if he should stay in the White House for another four years.

Congress gave final approval on Tuesday to the landmark legislation that would offer prescription drug benefits to 40 million elderly and disabled people, while giving insurance companies and private health plans a huge new role in the Medicare program.

The bill will allow Bush to take credit for delivering the mostsweeping change to the Medicare program in nearly 40 years, a goal Democrats have failed to achieve, while he gears up for the re-election campaign.

"For the sake of our seniors, we've gotten something done. We' re acting," Bush told an audience of older people in Las Vegas soon after the passage of the legislation.

The victory was especially significant considered the fact that Medicare has been associated with Democrats even since Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson created the program in 1965 to provide health care to elderly and disabled people.

Democrats tried to overhaul the Medicare program six years ago since it was forecast to run out of money in two decades as Americans are living longer and the 78 million baby boomers start retiring soon.

But Congress had failed to reach agreement on the future of the program because of ideological conflicts. Democrats wanted more government support for the program while Republicans sought a large role for private sectors.

Bush grabbed this issue from Democrats in his 2000 campaign, promising to add drug benefits to Medicare. Since Bush took office almost three years ago, the White House has propelled Republicans to fight hard for the passage of the legislation so Bush can deliver a key campaign promise.

As the election year approached, Democrats found themselves in a dilemma. On the one hand, they certainly did not want to give Republicans a victory and had fought against those provisions supported by Republicans that would allow private health plans to compete with the government-funded program.

On the other hand, however, they feared the consequences of voting no to a program which would for the first time in 40 years add prescription drug benefits to the elderly and the disabled, a traditional constituency of the Democratic Party.

They were left with little room for maneuvering after the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP), a powerful retiree lobby, decided to endorse the Republican-backed bill. The organization said the bill was imperfect but could serve as the first step to provide drug benefits to the elderly.

The endorsement of AARP, whose 35 million members and hundreds of millions of dollars in annual income make it perhaps the most influential advocacy organization in the United States, ensured the passage of the bill. "The entire dynamic of passing this bill shifted with AARP's endorsement," Bill McInturff, a Republican pollster, told The New York Times.

Besides giving the Republicans a big legislative win, the Medicare debate effectively divided the Democratic camp. In the Senate, 11 Democrats joined a majority of Republicans to vote for the bill. Thirty-five Democrats voted against it.

This division would make it harder for Senate Democratic leaderTom Daschle to put up what he called a continued fight. Within hours of the Senate vote, Daschle introduced legislation to repeal several of the bill's most controversial provisions.

Under the plan, beginning in 2006, Medicare beneficiaries would be charged premiums averaging 35 dollars a month per person. Afterthe beneficiary pays a 250-dollar deductible, insurance would cover 75 percent of drug costs up to 2,250 dollars. Then Medicare would pay nothing more until costs reached 5,100 dollars,a coverage gap of 2,850 dollars.

Democrats predicted that the enactment of the bill would trigger a backlash among the elderly and the disabled because it will lead to steady increases in premiums and deductibles as well as a widening of the coverage gap. For example, it was estimated that by 2013 the monthly premium would rise to 58 dollars and the deductible to 445 dollars.

But the backlash predicted by Democrats, if any, would deal no significant blow to Bush's re-election bid because the prescription drug program goes into effect only in 2006. For Bush and the Republicans, the more important date would be November 2004, when the consequence of the bill would not be very clear forMedicare beneficiaries.

Questions?Comments? Click here

Poll shows drop in confidence on Bush skill in handling crises

Poll shows Bush's approval rating moves back up

Poll finds Bush's job approval at 50%

Trade move by US government is 'poll ploy': Opinion ( 9 Messages)

Bush's UK visit fails to meet his wishes: Commentary ( 5 Messages)

The cause of China-US trade disputes ( 18 Messages)

Internet changes life in China: News focus ( 17 Messages)

Why China's first textbook on sex not used? ( 7 Messages)

US should be straight on 'one-China' policy ( 34 Messages)