Democrats Seek Probe of Medicare Estimates

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61431-2004Mar15.html

Democrats Seek Probe of Medicare Estimates

By Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 16, 2004; Page A02

Claims that the Bush administration withheld cost estimates of last year's Medicare prescription drug law prompted Democratic lawmakers yesterday to demand investigations and a GOP leader to say the reports are hurting his party's credibility.

Two Democratic senators wrote to President Bush, calling on him to bar any retaliation against Medicare's chief actuary, who last week said an administration official had threatened to fire him if he showed Congress his projected costs of the bill to add a drug benefit to Medicare. Meanwhile, half a dozen House Democrats have asked the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate the actuary's allegations.

In a related matter, several Democratic senators called on television stations to refrain from using HHS-produced "video news releases" that promote the new law, calling them misleading. The department says the videos are legitimate and typical of releases given to TV stations by hundreds of private companies and government agencies.

The question of the Medicare bill's likely cost was a major issue last fall, when House GOP leaders barely got enough votes to enact the Bush-backed measure. Throughout the long debate, congressional leaders said the bill would cost $395 billion over 10 years, a figure the White House did not publicly dispute. But soon after Bush signed it into law, the White House said the cost would be about $534 billion.

Last week, Medicare's chief cost analyst -- longtime federal employee Richard S. Foster -- said he had reached the higher estimate long before Congress took its final votes, and had wanted to share his estimates with lawmakers requesting such projections. He said Thomas A. Scully, then head of the HHS agency overseeing Medicare, repeatedly told him he would be fired if he did so. Scully has said he never threatened to fire Foster except in jest.

more...

[GainesT1958]

1. I'm sure it was a joke only to Scully...

And NO laughing matter at the time to Mr. Foster!

Now they have to cover it up by using ads with "fake reporters" telling us how great it all is...there really is no well deep enough to hold the load of Bush*t they're dumping on us! :grr:

B-)

[redqueen]

2. Refreshing!

Glad this little outrage isn't being being forgotten. :)