Sunday, May 07, 2006
Medicare (D)isaster: Sue following Bush's lead yet again
By all accounts, the recent Republican Medicare Part D legislation providing prescription drug coverage for our seniors has been a disaster. This confusing legislation was written primarily by the insurance and prescription drug industries (and with Democrats being shut out of the process) and was voted for in true partisan fashion by Sue Kelly. The result has caused mass confusion on the part of the people it was supposed to help and has also hurt many local pharmacists who have had a hard time receiving payments from the insurance companies.
Looming on the horizon is a May 15 deadline for senior citizens to sign up for the program and choose a plan that best suits their needs, failure to sign up for coverage could mean incurring a financial penalty and being unable to qualify for prescription drug coverage until 2007. However, thanks to this poorly crafted legislation, many seniors are having a hard time selecting a plan for coverage and have not yet signed up. With this deadline fast approaching there has been a call from many for Congress to extend the enrollment deadline. These calls have been resisted by the Bush administration who seemingly wants to force seniors to make an uninformed decision and quite probably enroll in the wrong plan for them.
In the Mid-Hudson Valley area, our congressional delegation is almost united in their desire to extend the enrollment period. All local representatives, from both sides of the aisle, are calling for an extension. Well almost all, the lone exception being Sue Kelly. Yes folks, once again Sue is following the lead of the Bush administration rather than represent her constituents.
From the Poughkeepsie Journal article some quotes from Rep. Maurice Hinchey:
Looming on the horizon is a May 15 deadline for senior citizens to sign up for the program and choose a plan that best suits their needs, failure to sign up for coverage could mean incurring a financial penalty and being unable to qualify for prescription drug coverage until 2007. However, thanks to this poorly crafted legislation, many seniors are having a hard time selecting a plan for coverage and have not yet signed up. With this deadline fast approaching there has been a call from many for Congress to extend the enrollment deadline. These calls have been resisted by the Bush administration who seemingly wants to force seniors to make an uninformed decision and quite probably enroll in the wrong plan for them.
In the Mid-Hudson Valley area, our congressional delegation is almost united in their desire to extend the enrollment period. All local representatives, from both sides of the aisle, are calling for an extension. Well almost all, the lone exception being Sue Kelly. Yes folks, once again Sue is following the lead of the Bush administration rather than represent her constituents.
From the Poughkeepsie Journal article some quotes from Rep. Maurice Hinchey:
Why does Sue Kelly want to rush senior citizens into making such an important decision as this? Where is the leadership from our 'Representative' in the House? Sue, it's time to stop following the incompetent leadership of the Bush administration and start representing the people in your congressional district.While legislative efforts in both houses have bipartisan support, not enough Republicans have come around to making it a reality yet, Hinchey said.
"What we're trying to do is just give more people more time to make an intelligent and carefully thought-out decision," Hinchey said.
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angry senior: That's a great post on your blog, thanks for the breakdown. It's clear that part D was created to benefit the insurance and pharmaceutical industries first and senior citizens second.
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