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$80 Million for Medicare Advertisements?March 18, 2004 The Medicare Prescription Drug Bill that was recently passed in Congress was widely debated. Last week, Medicares chief cost analyst, Richard S. Foster, claimed that he wanted to tell Congress, prior to the vote on the bill, that the Administration estimated costs for the bill were lower than his projected figures. Foster claims that Thomas A. Scully, President Bushs appointed head of the Medicare Administration threatened to fire him if he released his projections. Now President Bush, who supported the bill, against the opposition of hundreds of groups- including trade union retirees and the Alliance of Retired Americans- is spending millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars in a partisan effort to spin the facts about the Medicare prescription drug law. The Administrations budget for advertising includes $12.6 million for this winter, $37 million this spring and summer to publicize drug discount cards and $30 million for a year of beneficiary education. The New York Times reported on March 14th that federal investigators are reviewing the television ads to determine whether they violate a federal law that makes it illegal to use federal money for "publicity or propaganda purposes." The ads use actors who impersonate television reporters to lend credibility to their claims. Could the President have put this money to better use? The Center for American Progress lists several important steps that could be taken to improve healthcare for U.S. citizens using an investment of $80 million. Among them are:
To read more about this issue, visit Center for American Progress - What $80 Million for Medicare Ads Could Be Used For.
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Center for American Progress - What $80 Million for Medicare Ads Could Be Used For.Medicare.gov - The Official U.S. Government Site for People with MedicareTV advertisement for "new" Medicare benefits Bush Funds used for these ads come out of the U.S. Treasury - Congress.orgMedicare Cost Cover-up? - CBS News |
