Editorial, Opinion Pieces Focus On Medicare, Democratic Agenda

January 13, 2007 – 12:05 am | posted in Medicare

Newspapers recently published an editorial and opinion pieces on Medicare issues included in the Democratic agenda for the 110th Congress. Summaries appear below. Editorial

Long Island Newsday: House Democrats plan to “sprint” to address a number of “worthwhile initiatives” — such as legislation that would require the HHS secretary to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies on prices for medications under the Medicare prescription drug benefit and reduce restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research — in the first 100 hours of Congress, a Long Island Newsday editorial states. According to the editorial, “by allowing no amendments” to the bills, “Democrats will give Republicans a taste of their own medicine” (Long Island Newsday, 1/7).

Opinion Pieces

Sarah Berk, Charlotte Observer: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is “trying to fix” the Medicare prescription drug benefit, although “90% of Medicare beneficiaries now have drug coverage and 80% of recipients are satisfied with their coverage,” Berk, executive director of Health Care America, writes in an Observer opinion piece. “Premiums are down, as are program costs,” she writes, adding, “In fact, program costs dropped by 20% over last year’s estimate, which will create a savings of $180 billion over 10 years for taxpayers” (Berk, Charlotte Observer, 1/8).
Mark Weisbrot, Charlotte Observer: Democrats should seek to expand Medicare through a proposal that would allow all U.S. residents to purchase coverage through the program, Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, writes. He adds, “It’s obvious that we need a universal health care system that can hold down costs, as in the rest of the industrialized world,” and an expansion of Medicare could provide a “way to get a foot in the door” (Weisbrot, Charlotte Observer, 1/8).
Joe Conason, Chicago Sun-Times: Pelosi “deserves congratulations … for her decision to place promises made by her party to the American people” — such as efforts to reduce prescription drugs costs — “above the principle of minority rights within Congress,” Conason, a freelance columnist, writes in a Sun-Times opinion piece. After Democrats address such issues, “there will still be plenty of time to show that they can wield the majority gavel with more decency and decorum” than Republicans, Conason adds (Conason, Chicago Sun-Times, 1/7).

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