Wednesday, July 02, 2003

How Not to Fix Medicare
New York Times opinion/editorial piece by Jacob S. Hacker, assistant professor of political science at Yale University and a fellow at the New America Foundation, is author of The Divided Welfare State: The Battle Over Public and Private Social Benefits in the United States - "If this warning seems apocalyptic, that's only because most Americans are under the impression that the measures on the table are centrist compromises that would protect everyone's interests. In reality, neither the Senate nor the House legislation would achieve this. And while the Senate bill is indeed an attempt at compromise, albeit a deeply flawed one, the House bill is a radical measure directly at odds with Medicare's longstanding aims. It threatens to cripple the program for generations to come. Bluntly put, the House legislation is a ruse. The bill delivers a prescription drug benefit, but this benefit is simply the attractive window dressing for the legislation's ultimate aim: fundamentally revamping Medicare to create a competitive system based on private health plans..." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].