| Topic: |
Science > Abortion |
| User: |
"james g. keegan jr." |
| Date: |
27 Apr 2004 06:09:28 PM |
| Object: |
BUSH MISLEADS SENIORS ON NEW DRUG CARDS |
BUSH MISLEADS SENIORS ON NEW DRUG CARDS
Less than a year ago, President Bush promised Americans that he would
"provide seniors with a drug discount card that saves them 10 to 25% off
the cost of all drugs, so they'll start seeing savings immediately" on
their medications (1). But, as the program launches next week, experts have
concluded that the cards don't guarantee seniors any savings at all (2).
Additionally, instead of admitting this, the President used millions in
taxpayer money to promote the cards through television ads - ads that
government regulators later said were misleading.
As the New York Times reports, the White House plan locks seniors into the
cards they initially choose, then allows the card sponsors "to change their
prices on a weekly basis," thus never guaranteeing any benefit at all (3).
Instead of telling the seniors the truth when this reality became apparent,
the President used tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer funds to air
television ads promising that the drug cards will save seniors money. Some
of the ads even used fake reporters in an effort to trick viewers into
thinking they were watching objective news (4). The General Accounting
Office soon concluded that the ads contained "notable omissions and errors"
(5).
One possible reason the President never forced card sponsors to guarantee
savings could be Bush's relationship with a longtime Texas crony and drug
card industry executive who could profit from bilking seniors. According to
the Boston Globe, the President allowed David Halbert, CEO of drug card
company AdvancePCS, to "craft the portion of the Medicare bill" that
created the card program, even though Halbert had a financial interest in
the bill and has had a close relationship with Bush for years (6). For
instance, "Bush had been an investor in a Halbert-owned predecessor company
to AdvancePCS" and Halbert "contributed to Bush campaigns from his 1994
gubernatorial race through his White House bid in 2000."
Source:
1. President Bush Calls for Action on 38th Anniversary of Medicare,
07/30/2003, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2103488&l=31347.
2. "New Drug Card Called Passport To Confusion", Hartford Courant,
04/25/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2103488&l=31348.
3. "Feds will keep drug discount on the up and up", Wichita Eagle,
12/11/2003,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2103488&l=31349.
4. "Publicity Campaign Under Scrutiny", ABC News, 03/15/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2103488&l=31350.
5. "Bush Medicare Reform Bill Become a Nightmare for GOP", Miami Herald,
03/19/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2103488&l=31351.
6. "Bush ally's firm vies for Medicare cards", Boston Globe, 12/12/2003,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2103488&l=31352.
Visit Misleader.org for more about Bush Administration distortion. --> <
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2103488&l=31353 >
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| User: "M is for Malapert" |
|
| Title: Re: BUSH MISLEADS SENIORS ON NEW DRUG CARDS |
27 Apr 2004 06:33:58 PM |
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"james g. keegan jr." <keegan@nycap.rr.com> wrote in message
news:Xns94D948CF1B1BFkeegannycaprrcom@130.133.1.4...
But, as the program launches next week, experts have
concluded that the cards don't guarantee seniors any savings at all (2).
As the New York Times reports, the White House plan locks seniors into the
cards they initially choose, then allows the card sponsors "to change
their
prices on a weekly basis," thus never guaranteeing any benefit at all (3).
Walgreens has a sign posting that the cards are coming soon and you can look
for a savings of "up to 10 to 25 percent". Up to. Ten percent.
On the other hand, I saw yesterday that my doctor's office has a new sign
telling people they may be able to save a lot of money getting their drugs
from Canada, which includes a phone number and website telling them how.
.
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| User: "james g. keegan jr." |
|
| Title: Re: BUSH MISLEADS SENIORS ON NEW DRUG CARDS |
27 Apr 2004 10:25:17 PM |
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"M is for Malapert" <minxs@sonic.net> wrote in
news:G5Cjc.32234$cF6.1461270@attbi_s04:
"james g. keegan jr." <keegan@nycap.rr.com> wrote in message
news:Xns94D948CF1B1BFkeegannycaprrcom@130.133.1.4...
But, as the program launches next week, experts have
concluded that the cards don't guarantee seniors any savings at all
(2). As the New York Times reports, the White House plan locks seniors
into the cards they initially choose, then allows the card sponsors "to
change
their
prices on a weekly basis," thus never guaranteeing any benefit at all
(3).
Walgreens has a sign posting that the cards are coming soon and you can
look for a savings of "up to 10 to 25 percent". Up to. Ten percent.
On the other hand, I saw yesterday that my doctor's office has a new
sign telling people they may be able to save a lot of money getting
their drugs from Canada, which includes a phone number and website
telling them how.
it's a shame that people have to buy fromn other countries. in upstate new
york, where i live, many elderly collqaborate and wsend peopel to canada to
buy.
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