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March 23, 2004

What the Medicare Ads forgot to mention

Medicare Will Go Broke by 2019, Report Says

Rising health costs mean that Medicare will have to take money from its trust fund this year to cover expenditures, government trustees said in an annual report released Tuesday.

They also said that Medicare will go broke by 2019 if no changes are made to the program. That bleak forecast is partly the result of the new Medicare prescription drug law that will increase costs by more than $500 billion over 10 years, the report says.

It states that provisions of the prescription drug law, which was signed by President Bush in December, "raises serious doubt about the sustainability of Medicare under current financing arrangements."

The trustees' prediction of 2019 as the insolvency date for Medicare is seven years earlier than what they had projected last year, the Associated Press reports.

Not sure which Medicare Ads I mean? This should jog your memory:

Medicare Ads Draw Fire

February 6, 2004

The Alliance for Retired Americans today called on the Republican National Committee to reimburse American taxpayers the more than $12 million of public money used by the Bush administration to finance a media campaign that promotes the new Medicare prescription drug law, charging the advertisements are blatantly political and don't provide a public service. The print and broadcast campaign was launched by the White House in response to growing criticism about the politically volatile Medicare drug benefit.

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said the campaign is intended to inform seniors when some of the prescription drug benefits will be available, and to "reassure" seniors that they can choose to keep their existing Medicare coverage if they prefer. The ad encourages seniors to learn more by calling 1-800-Medicare, the toll-free helpline for Medicare beneficiaries and their families.

"The president and Karl Rove know they created a prescription drug law that seniors simply don't accept," said Alliance Executive Director Ed Coyle, whose organization says it represents more than 3 million seniors. The group campaigned fiercely against passage of the Medicare bill.

"This misinformation campaign amounts to nothing more than an in-kind political contribution by the Department of Health and Human Services to the Committee to re-elect President Bush and should be paid for with campaign money and not with hard-earned taxpayer dollars. This campaign is a public disservice and shouldn't be construed as helping educate seniors.

Thompson said the campaign was meant to be educational.

Posted by Mike at March 23, 2004 05:23 PM

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