Republican Medicare bill introduced

Senate Finance Committee Chairman William Roth (R-Del.) announced today that he will introduce two bills that are intended to subsidize Medicare prescription drug coverage for senior citizens. Both bills are similar to the short-term plan proposed Tuesday by Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush (see BioCentury Extra, Sept. 5). The bills would create an immediate, temporary, state-based prescription drug benefit targeted to lower-income Medicare beneficiaries. Roth said the bills are intended to provide "a temporary solution until comprehensive reform and broad prescription drug coverage can be enacted."

The principal difference between the two bills is the cost. One bill meets the budgetary requirements of this year's Senate budget resolution, which authorized $20 billion in federal funds for prescription drug costs in the absence of agreement on larger Medicare reforms. This bill would cover beneficiaries with incomes up to 150 percent of the poverty level, and would require a simple majority of 51 votes for approval. The other bill covers senior citizens with incomes up to 175 percent of the poverty level and would cost $31 billion, which would be over budget and thus requires 60 votes for approval. ...