Comparing Prescription Drug Proposals: Bush v. Gore
Table of Contents
Conclusions
"The Bush approach has the potential to hold down total Medicare spending more effectively with less pain."
The Bush prescription drug proposal is not perfect, but perhaps its greatest asset is that it assumes that drug therapy is a part of overall health care treatment for the elderly. Thus, rather than dealing with drug benefits as a separate matter, Bush treats them as an integral part of reforming Medicare. Further, the Bush proposal does not promote price controls and offers wider access to new drugs than the Gore proposal. By encouraging greater use of newer, more cost-effective drugs and consumer choice and by confining subsidies to seniors in real need, the Bush proposal will hold down total Medicare spending more effectively with less real pain than the Gore proposal. Under the Gore proposal, rising drug costs as a stand-alone budget item would be a tempting target for price controls and rationing.
NOTE: Nothing written here should be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the National Center for Policy Analysis or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before Congress.
