Okay, I know this is probably because I’m a self-absorbed young person, but I really have a hard time getting worked up about this Medicare “reform” issue. From what I understand, the bill that just passed through congress is a basically a blank check to the insurance industry under the guise of providing “competition” or some other bullshit. Pretty typical for the GOP. I’ve tried to pay attention, but every time I talk turns to Medicare, my eyes start to glaze over. This long exchange from yesterday’s debate is a good example of what I’m talking about :

KERRY: No, I want to talk about it, because Dick Gephardt is absolutely correct. And it’s important to look at the record here.

The fact is that Governor Dean raised prescription costs for seniors in his state when he needed to balance the budget.

He called himself a “balanced budget freak” — those are his own words. And what he did was raised those costs, as well as take money out of a teachers’ pension fund in order to balance it.

Now, I have a different approach. I’ve asked the governor several times at several debates: Will he still try to reduce the rate of growth in Medicare? He’s said several times he’s going to cut the rate of growth in Medicare.

And I think it’s important for people — I’ve laid out a very specific plan. Governor Dean has no plan for actually balancing the budget or reducing the deficit.

And I’d like to know if he still intends to reduce the rate of growth in Medicare as one of the ways in which he’s going to balance the budget.

BROKAW: Governor Dean, I know — and this will be the last word on this.

DEAN: I most certainly appreciate all this attention that I’m getting.

We have never taken money out of the teachers’ pension fund. That is grossly irresponsible. It has happened in other states, one of which I happen to have to say is Massachusetts, although I don’t think Senator Kerry had anything to do with that.

We have never taken money out of the teachers’ pension fund, and we have the best health care record of virtually any state in the country.

So a lot of these accusations are the kinds of things people go through to pick up little pieces of this and little pieces of that.

Look at the big picture: We’ve done a great job on health insurance…

KERRY: But you still haven’t answered my question.

DEAN: We’ve done a great job on kids.

KERRY: But you still haven’t answered my question.

DEAN: And Tom Beaumont wrote in the Des Moines Register weeks ago that Medicare is off the table.

BROKAW: Congressman?

KERRY: No, the question is will you slow the rate of growth? Do you intend to slow the rate of growth in Medicare because you said you were going to do that?

DEAN: Well, what I intend to do in Medicare is to increase reimbursements for states like Iowa and Vermont, which are 50th and 49th respectively.

KERRY: Are you going to slow the rate of growth, Governor, yes or no?

DEAN: We’re going to do what we have to do to make sure that Medicare lasts…

KERRY: Are you going to slow the rate of growth, Governor?

(LAUGHTER)

Because that’s a cut.

DEAN: Well, I’d like to slow the rate of growth of this debate, if I could…

(LAUGHTER)

… but we’re going to make sure that Medicare works.

KERRY: Well, I’m sure you’d like to avoid it altogether, but…

BROKAW: OK. Let me ask you, Senator Kerry…

DEAN: Medicare is off the table.

We are not going to cut Medicare in order to balance the budget. I’ve made that very clear. I’ll do it one more time.

We will not…

KERRY: That’s not the question.

DEAN: … cut Medicare in order to balance the budget.

Dean is clearly getting his ass handed to him by Kerry, but it’s hard to get excited about about “Dean wants to slow the rate of growth!” I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who really care about this stuff though, so I hope they’re getting the message that the Republicans are more interested in funneling money to big businesses than helping the elderly :

Seniors will face annual increases in premiums and deductibles ? and a growing gap in coverage ? for the prescription drugs they buy under the new Medicare law, budget analysts say.

For example, the $250 annual deductible at the start of the program in 2006 is projected to rise to $445 by 2013.

The legislation that won final congressional approval Tuesday would allow seniors to buy coverage ? at an estimated monthly premium of $35 ? for their prescription drugs beginning in three years. After they agreed to the monthly premiums and paid their first $250 in pharmacy bills, the coverage would kick in, paying 75 percent of their bills between $250 and $2,250.

After that, there would be no further coverage until beneficiaries’ drug bills for the year reached $5,100, leaving a gap of $2,850 that they would have to pay out of their own pockets. Above $5,100 the insurance would pick up roughly 95 percent of costs.

Those are the numbers supporters of the bill have used, with little mention that they would change in future years.

But after just one year, the Congressional Budget Office (news - web sites) projects that seniors would see their $250 deductible and the $2,850 gap for which there is no coverage both jump 10 percent.

By 2013, the eighth year of the program, the deductible and the coverage gap are both projected to grow by 78 percent.

In other words, seniors would pay a $445 deductible and those with the largest drug bills would be entirely responsible for more than $5,000 in drug costs.
. . .
At the same time, CBO said, Medicare’s contribution also would rise each year so that the program would pay $1,500 of the first $2,250 in drug costs in 2006 and $2,666 of the first $4,000 in 2013.

Insurance premiums, which are not set in the bill even for 2006, are projected to increase 65 percent to $58 a month by 2013.

I have no doubt that there’s a political cartoonist hack out there getting the word out about how awful this bill is by writing the word “MEDICARE” on a picture of an elephant or something. I’m sure that will probably reach the Medicare audience a lot better than a potty-mouthed blogger will.