By The TSCL Legislative Staff
President Bush, as well as leadership in the House and Senate is aggressively pushing ahead with plans to add personal accounts to Social Security despite national polls that show Americans overwhelmingly oppose private accounts. This is very troubling if past experience with Medicare has taught us anything.

In 2003 President Bush and Congressional leaders "fast tracked" new Medicare drug legislation into law. The final negotiations on the legislation were held in highly restricted closed-door sessions. Senior advocates, including TSCL, had a difficult time learning what was actually contained in the final bill until long after the bill was signed into law. We are still learning — and quite frankly, much of what we are learning is deeply troubling.

The final vote in the House on the Medicare drug legislation was held open an unprecedented length of time while House leaders pressed other Members to change their vote in favor of the legislation. The legislation finally passed on just five votes, and there was later an allegation of a bribery attempt. The Bush Administration also withheld

higher cost estimates of the legislation from members of his own party at the time of the vote. Had those costs been known at the time, the legislation may never have passed.

The legislation added what we hoped would be a long sought, and very much needed, prescription drug benefit for seniors. Instead, what seniors have received so far is a program that has added extensive new layers of complexity to an already overly complicated program, and significantly higher costs than originally anticipated. But the program is so complicated that so far actual enrollment in the first phase of the program, for Medicare discount cards, has been far below estimates. It remains to be seen whether seniors will derive much benefit from the new drug plans that start next year.

Meanwhile Medicare Part B premiums are estimated to jump 15% next year after soaring 17.5% in this year. Medicare Part B deductibles will climb annually, and in 2007 Medicare beneficiaries with higher incomes will have to pay even higher premiums for their Medicare Part B coverage when Means Testing begins.

Now Congressional leaders and President Bush are advocating Means Testing Social Security and appear to be "fast tracking" this legislation again. TSCL legislative staff, and our all - volunteer Board of Trustees are attending hearings and visiting members of Congress to oppose private account proposals, and to make the case for protecting seniors from cuts to Cost-Of-Living Adjustments (COLAs). We are also pushing for simple solutions to higher health care costs, like allowing the legal reimportation of prescription drugs from Canada and other developed nations where drug costs are much lower than our own.

We also urge you to take nothing for granted. While your Members of Congress are home for summer recess, we encourage you to attend Town Hall meetings, and call or fax local offices to express your opinion on Social Security proposals. Your personal contact can turn the process around, just as it did in 1988 when seniors insisted that Congress repeal "Medicare Catastrophic" the year following its passage. Let's put the brakes on "fast track" Social Security private account legislation. If a proposal to strengthen Social Security finances is as equitable, non-partisan and fair as it can be, then it shouldn't need a "fast track" to pass.

Sources: "Smith Probe Now Official," John Bresnahan, Roll Call, March 18, 2004. "Medicare Actuary Warned Bush Overhaul Would Exceed Budget," David Rogers, The Wall Street Journal, March 25, 2004.

June 2005