less than four months after he signed it into law on Dec. 8, Bush's Medicare reform dream has turned into a nightmare and a potential drag on his bid for re-election. The biggest expansion of the government social service net in a generation now is drawing fire on several fronts:
# The Health and Human Services general inspector's office is investigating a claim by the government's top expert on Medicare costs that the administration concealed from Congress the true cost of the program.
# The House Ethics Committee plans to investigate whether threats and bribes were used to pass the bill in the House.
# The General Accounting Office (GAO) is investigating whether the Bush administration spent millions of taxpayer dollars on TV ads touting the Medicare reform law that look suspiciously like Bush campaign commercials.
# The Health and Human Services general inspector's office is investigating a claim by the government's top expert on Medicare costs that the administration concealed from Congress the true cost of the program.
# The House Ethics Committee plans to investigate whether threats and bribes were used to pass the bill in the House.
# The General Accounting Office (GAO) is investigating whether the Bush administration spent millions of taxpayer dollars on TV ads touting the Medicare reform law that look suspiciously like Bush campaign commercials.
But those ads are still on TV.
...the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, is examining whether Health and Human Services TV ads touting the new law -- with prominent pictures of Bush -- constitute illegal political propaganda. The GAO already has concluded that the ads contain "notable omissions and errors," but its preliminary judgment was that they are legal.
Meanwhile, a Gallup poll in January showed public dissatisfactionwith the program. Fifty-three percent of those surveyed said the prescription drug benefit didn't go far enough; 27 percent said it was about right while 9 percent said it went too far.
...By last week's end, congressional Republicans were rallying behind Bush and dismissing the allegations as a Democratic scheme to discredit a GOP triumph.
Independent analysts, including conservatives, weren't so sanguine. "This bill will not go down in the annals of good government," said Robert Moffitt, the director of the Center for Health Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation. "Now it's a political problem."
Meanwhile, a Gallup poll in January showed public dissatisfactionwith the program. Fifty-three percent of those surveyed said the prescription drug benefit didn't go far enough; 27 percent said it was about right while 9 percent said it went too far.
...By last week's end, congressional Republicans were rallying behind Bush and dismissing the allegations as a Democratic scheme to discredit a GOP triumph.
Independent analysts, including conservatives, weren't so sanguine. "This bill will not go down in the annals of good government," said Robert Moffitt, the director of the Center for Health Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation. "Now it's a political problem."
From the Center for American Progress:
Late last week, the Department of Health and Human Services launched an investigation into charges that the Administration sought to hide information from Congress by threatening to fire a government official if he gave lawmakers a higher cost estimate for the bill than expected. Now some lawmakers are calling for the General Accounting Office to investigate as well. Meanwhile, the House Ethics Committee plans to investigate whether threats and bribes were used to pass the bill in the House. The House Ethics Committee will specifically look into allegations by Rep. Nick Smith, (R-MI) that "bribes and special deals were offered" to induce him to vote for the bill. Finally, the General Accounting Office (GAO) is "investigating whether the Bush administration spent millions of taxpayer dollars on TV ads touting the Medicare reform law that look suspiciously like Bush campaign commercials." Using taxpayer dollars to pay for political ads is just one of the many ways the Administration is playing politics with Medicare.
WHITE HOUSE DODGE: The White House is trying to downplay its involvement. Karl Rove, President Bush's chief strategist, dismissed concerns, calling them "much ado about nothing" on Friday. The Administration is also pushing the theory that Medicare head Thomas Scully (now on drug company payrolls) acted on his own in threatening to fire Foster if he exposed the truth. "I'm not aware of anyone at the White House being involved in what has been alleged," said White House press secretary Scott McClellan. "McClellan would not, however, directly answer questions about whether anyone in the White House had checked to see if any of Bush's aides were involved, or if administration officials believe they have an obligation to share such cost information with Congress."
...LONG-TERM RAMIFICATIONS: According to a new report to be released tomorrow, the legislation will cost even more than thought in the long term. Trustees for Medicare and Social Security are ready to report that "the two entitlement programs will eventually need more than twice as much money as previously estimated."
MORE TO PRIVATE CARE: New documents Foster provided to Congress late last week also show that "the new law will increase Medicare payments to private health plans by a total of $46 billion over the next 10 years, not the $14 billion assumed by lawmakers when they voted on the legislation." At the same time, while the Administration claimed the new legislation would not affect existing coverage, the new estimate projects "enrollment in the traditional government-run Medicare program will decline from 2006 to 2009, along with payments to many health care providers...."
Progress Report
WHITE HOUSE DODGE: The White House is trying to downplay its involvement. Karl Rove, President Bush's chief strategist, dismissed concerns, calling them "much ado about nothing" on Friday. The Administration is also pushing the theory that Medicare head Thomas Scully (now on drug company payrolls) acted on his own in threatening to fire Foster if he exposed the truth. "I'm not aware of anyone at the White House being involved in what has been alleged," said White House press secretary Scott McClellan. "McClellan would not, however, directly answer questions about whether anyone in the White House had checked to see if any of Bush's aides were involved, or if administration officials believe they have an obligation to share such cost information with Congress."
...LONG-TERM RAMIFICATIONS: According to a new report to be released tomorrow, the legislation will cost even more than thought in the long term. Trustees for Medicare and Social Security are ready to report that "the two entitlement programs will eventually need more than twice as much money as previously estimated."
MORE TO PRIVATE CARE: New documents Foster provided to Congress late last week also show that "the new law will increase Medicare payments to private health plans by a total of $46 billion over the next 10 years, not the $14 billion assumed by lawmakers when they voted on the legislation." At the same time, while the Administration claimed the new legislation would not affect existing coverage, the new estimate projects "enrollment in the traditional government-run Medicare program will decline from 2006 to 2009, along with payments to many health care providers...."
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