(The AFL-CIO issued the following statement on November 25.)
Today’s Senate approval of the partisan Medicare drug plan is a major setback for the 41 million beneficiaries of the program. When seniors learn more about the plan’s details, they will demand an explanation from their representatives who supported this inadequate plan. It should be no surprise to see seniors expressing their anger at the polls. Congress has fundamentally undermined the security of the Medicare program with a drug plan that provides giveaways to private insurers and opens the door to privatization of the entire program. In addition, nearly three million retirees are expected to lose their employer-sponsored prescription drug benefits.
Members of Congress should have stood firm against the Republican and Bush Administration tactics to shut out debate and ram through a plan that will burden seniors and future generations as health care costs continue to rise beyond expectations. Seniors deserve better.
The drug plan’s overall cost and benefits for HMOs and pharmaceutical companies will shock retirees who waited patiently for a drug plan that would give them long-term relief. Instead, they were handed a bad deal.