Will Congress Delay Medicare Part D to Help Cover Hurricane Katrnia Costs?
From The Heritage Foundation:
Katrina relief and recovery could cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars in additional spending, driving up deficits, but still the costly new Medicare drug entitlement is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2006. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) says that, in light of Katrina, America’s taxpayers cannot afford this massive and unnecessary Medicare entitlement expansion next year.[1] Meanwhile, members of the House Republican Study Committee have proposed a one-year delay of the benefit to offset rapidly rising Katrina-related costs. Delaying the prescription drug benefit for one or two years would save tens of billions of dollars that could be put to better use in Katrina recovery.
America must help the victims of Hurricane Katrina rebuild their lives and their region, which is a vital part of the nation. This is an urgent necessity. Because the cost will be enormous, Congress must find ways to offset current and projected spending.
Title I of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, the universal drug entitlement, is neither necessary nor desirable. The best policy is to repeal most of Title I but retain the Medicare drug discount card and its provision for assistance for low-income seniors. Congress could make this direct assistance even more generous for poor seniors without drug coverage, while going back to the drawing board to create a more rational and fiscally responsible drug Medicare benefit. A redrawn benefit should target increasingly limited taxpayers dollars to those seniors who need help the most.
Short of repeal of Title I, Congress could delay implementation of the Medicare drug provisions for one or preferably two years. Again, Congress could still retain the Medicare drug discount card and continue to use it to target direct assistance to needy seniors who lack prescription drug coverage. The Medicaid dual-eligible population would remain in Medicaid for prescription drug coverage during any period of delay. This, in substance, is the policy embodied in The Prescription Drug Cost Containment Act of 2005 (H.R. 1382), authored by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ).
I think it may be a little late in the game for this to actually happen. The pharmacies, drug companies, and insurance companies have already invested tons of time and money into preparing for this plan… I would be quite surprised to see it get delayed at this point.