W.H. defends Senate health bill, attacks Bush prescription drug benefit

The White House on Saturday defended the Senate's version of healthcare reform and attacked the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit passed under the Bush administration in 2003.

On its blog, the White House contrasted the cost, deficit effect and length of both landmark pieces of legislation. The White House's effort came after Republicans took to the Senate floor during debate to criticize the bill as a bill that costs too much, will increase the deficit and will fail to bring down high insurance premiums.

"To provide a little perspective on these attacks, let’s compare today's legislation with the 2003 Medicare Part D effort, which many of these same critics supported," writes Dan Pfeiffer.The bill provides a chart of the metrics.

"Opponents of health insurance reform have spent hours on the Senate floor today attacking the Senate's efforts to provide stability and security for those with insurance, affordable coverage for those without, and lower costs for families, small businesses and the government," he says.

Republicans dispute the figures provided by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which the White House used for the Senate bill. The GOP claims the bill will cost as much as $2.4 trillion after full implementation and would increase the deficit over 10 years.