News in brief - Sept. 18, 2000

Bush releases prescription drug plan

At press time, GOP presidential candidate George W. Bush unveiled his $158 billion plan to provide senior citizens with prescription drug coverage and strengthen Medicare.

The plan comes in two tiers, with both short- and long-term spending policies. "We will work to modernize Medicare," he said. "But we will not wait to help seniors get prescription drugs."

First, he proposes to give an estimated $48 billion to states, starting in 2001 and continuing over four years, to cover the cost of prescription drugs for senior citizens earning up to $11,200 (135% of the poverty level). These funds also would pay part of these drug costs for seniors with more resources.

Over 10 years, Bush then proposes spending $110 billion to implement steps to strengthen and modernize Medicare, including additional prescription drug coverage policies and mechanisms to expand choices among plans.

Americans see health care as one of the most important issues facing the nation, thus bolstering its already high-profile presence in the presidential race.

Expanding health insurance to more Americans and reining in the cost of care were the top issues identified by the Center on Policy Attitudes after reviewing existing polling data; the results of focus group discussions in Richmond, Va., and Cleveland; and findings from a new nationwide poll of 652 respondents.

A strong majority of Americans believe that health care is a right, like public education, and should be guaranteed by the government, said the study. But the public does not favor a large tax increase to fund an expanded government effort or the establishment of a full-scale, single-payer government health insurance program, the study found.

The majority supported requiring employers to provide insurance for their employees and expanding existing government programs that provide health insurance to groups currently lacking coverage, such as children and those with low incomes.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology said in August that the proposed 2001 physician fee schedule contains some disappointments for them.

Earlier forecasts on the impact of changes to the practice expense portion of Medicare payments said a 6% fee increase was in store for ophthalmologists, but the government's latest proposal revised that projection to a 5% increase. The increase, which occurs because the new practice expense values shift money to office-based services, translates to about $200 million annually.

"We are disappointed that this proposed fee schedule does not include our recommendations that were approved earlier this year by the [Practice Expense Advisory Committee]," said William Rich III, MD, academy secretary for federal affairs. Those changes include higher practice expense payments for corneal transplants, cataract surgeries and other office-based lid procedures.

The academy also objected to an "unrealistic" $50 payment proposed for ocular photodynamic therapy and planned to begin collecting data that would show the fee needed to be increased.

Seven out of 10 Americans believe the Medicare program won't be able to survive in its current form and won't be able to provide benefits to retirees of the baby boom generation, according to a survey released Sept. 5 by The Alliance to Improve Medicare.

About 53% of those polled said Medicare needed comprehensive reform, compared with 28% who said the only change needed was the addition of a prescription drug benefit.

AIM Director Tracey Moorhead said current debate was focusing on how to expand Medicare's benefits package to include prescription drugs rather than searching for long-term strategies to fix the program.

The AIM survey polled 1,000 adults ages 18 and older by presenting them with factual information about the Medicare program. The margin of error is plus or minus 3%.