Democrats Lay Down Lines for Looming Medicare Fight (NYT)

[Merlin]

Daschle and Ted Kennedy have laid down a "political marker" in a letter to Frist warning their support depends on retaining provisions passed in the Senate but not the house:

In their letter, the Democrats objected to several provisions of the House bill, including one that encourages people to establish tax-free savings accounts to help pay medical expenses. Conservatives favor such accounts as a way for people to take more responsibility for their own health care.
...
The letter also says it would be "wrong to legislate a vast social experiment" that could raise premiums for people who stay in the traditional Medicare program. Mr. Kennedy said this was an allusion to a provision of the House bill that calls for competitive bidding and direct price competition between Medicare and private health plans, starting in 2010.
...
By voice vote, the House today passed a separate bill to protect the prescription drug benefits available to retired federal workers under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
Federal employee unions and retirees lobbied for the legislation, saying they feared they might otherwise be forced to accept inferior coverage under Medicare.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/09/politics/09MEDI.html