House passes GOP Medicare bill

At the end of a tumultuous day of parliamentary maneuvering and bitter partisan combat, the House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a Medicare prescription drug benefit bill. The vote, originally scheduled to take place Wednesday morning, was delayed by Democrats who first tried and failed to arrange a vote on rival Medicare drug legislation and then used a variety of tactics, including reading the full text of their bill from the House podium, leaving the House chamber en masse, and introducing numerous amendments to delay consideration of the Republican bill.

The Republican bill gives subsidies to insurance companies and other private sector entities to encourage them to provide prescription drug coverage to Medicare recipients. The bill establishes minimum benefit requirements that all prescription drug plans must meet, including guaranteed price discounts that plans negotiate on behalf of all enrollees. The bill also stipulates that if at least two competing private sector drug plans are not available in a specific region, a new government agency created to oversee the Medicare drug benefit would make a benefit available. ...