|
 |
 |
|
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.
|
Senate Health Reform |
Medicare Part D |
|
Effect on the Deficits over First 10 years |
Decreased by $130 billion |
Increased by $395 billion |
|
Cost from 2010-2019 |
$848 billion |
$600 billion |
|
Length |
2,074 pages |
1,044 pages |
"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.
Most Viewed RSS Feed »
