July 2, 1999

While your Congressional delegation is visiting the District over the Fourth of July recess (July 3-11), let them hear from their constituents. Attend town hall meetings-bring a cane and an umbrella- and call the district offices. They have forgotten how angry seniors attacked Congressman Dan Rostenkowski in his car over the catastrophic Medicare expansion tried briefly, then repealed in 1989.

Clinton is trying to do it again with his prescription drug "benefit." Some points to make:

• Seniors will pay for the benefit. The White House estimates that seniors will be forced to pay an additional $528 per year in premiums alone, even though nearly half spend less than $100 per year on pharmaceuticals. This nearly doubles the Part B premium. The new benefit may jeopardize the benefits already enjoyed by two-thirds of seniors.
• There is NO federal budget surplus to pay for this or any other program. The government borrowed $30 billion from Social Security last year.
• Clinton plans to cut standard Medicare benefits by $75 billion to subsidize the drug benefit. Seniors can expect further cutbacks in services and decreases in quality.
• Price controls-which will soon follow federal payment-will reduce seniors' choices and will force pharmaceutical companies to cut back on research into new drugs.

Instead of more promises that can't be kept-and more cynical exploitation of seniors' needs and worries to get votes-demand more freedom for seniors to make their own medical decisions without government meddling. In particular, demand the right to purchase private medical care-without reporting, rationing, or harassment of patient or physician. No American should be forced to depend solely on government as the one and only source of any goods or services.

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