Just days before Medicare officials in Washington unveil the private prescription drug plans that will be available to the program's 43 million elderly and disabled beneficiaries starting next January, both liberals and conservatives in Congress are calling for a delay in the controversial program.
Conservatives in the U.S. House Wednesday unveiled "Operation Offset," an effort to find budget cuts to help pay for relief needed to rebuild the states and cities decimated by Hurricane Katrina three weeks ago. Delaying the new Medicare benefit by a year is at the top of the list, primarily because it would save an estimated $30 billion over the next decade. |