In three
election campaigns, U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, a Lenexa Democrat, has
said
America
's seniors desperately need prescription drug coverage through the
Medicare system.
But he has steadfastly voted against plans crafted by Republican
leaders in the U.S. House. He has opposed them because they didn't
use the Medicare system and were not supported by the AARP, a
national advocate for issues affecting older adults.
Last weekend he got to vote on a new Republican plan that provided
a prescription drug benefit through Medicare and was backed by the
AARP. In a highly partisan vote, the measure was approved 220-215,
with most Democrats, under intense pressure from their leadership,
voting against it. The measure was approved Tuesday by the Senate.
Moore
stayed with his party and voted "No."
On Monday he issued a statement saying the legislation didn't
provide enough help for seniors. Two of his three rivals were
quick to condemn his vote.
"Although I have long been a supporter of efforts to add a
prescription drug benefit to Medicare, I did not support passage
of this legislation because it doesn't address the problems our
seniors are having paying for prescription drugs,"
Moore
said.
He criticized the bill for ignoring the issue of rapidly rising
cost of drugs and prohibiting Medicare officials from negotiating
with drug companies for lower prescription drug prices.
Under the drug benefit, the bill's centerpiece, seniors would pay
a $250 deductible, a $35 monthly premium, and 25 percent of the
cost of drugs between $250 and $2,250.
They would encounter a gap in coverage after $2,250 until their
out-of-pocket expenses reached $3,600 or $5,100 in total drug
expenses. At that point, they would pay 5 percent of their
additional drug costs.
Moore
criticized that gap, calling it the "doughnut hole" in
coverage.
Low-income seniors would get significantly more coverage. The 7
million seniors with incomes at or below the poverty level --
$12,120 for a family of two -- would have no deductible and no
premium, but would pay a nominal co-pay
on drugs.
The National Republican Congressional Committee said 91,000
low-income seniors in
Kansas
would pay no more than $5 per prescription under the plan.
U.S. Rep. Tom Reynolds, NRCC chairman, accused
Moore
of failing "to deliver for the seniors of
Kansas
' 3rd District.'' His vote will be a major weapon in the GOP
campaign arsenal next year.
"As the AARP has said, this was Mr. Moore's only chance to
keep his promise to support prescription drug coverage for
seniors," said Rep. Patricia Lightner
of
Overland Park
. "Unfortunately, he chose partisanship over doing the right
thing for 40 million seniors."
Before the vote, the AARP ran ads across the country urging
lawmakers to support the plan, even though it didn't include
everything the organization advocated. The ads suggested that the
bill, while far from perfect, was the best deal prescription drug
advocates were going to get.
Adam Taff, another of
Moore
's GOP rivals, said
Moore
would never see a perfect bill.
"This bill provides real relief for seniors who need it
most," Taff said. "We cannot
pursue perfection at the exclusion of the possible. There are 7
million seniors below the poverty level that will generally get
full benefits under this bill."
While Taff and Lightner
would have backed the bill, Kris Kobach,
the third Republican seeking the right to challenge
Moore
next year, said he would have voted against the measure.
"This is the largest expansion of the welfare state in 40
years," Kobach said. "It
forces us to make a horrible choice in the years to come. We must
either raise taxes massively to pay for this huge entitlement or
Medicare goes bankrupt in the next five years. Neither one of
those choices is something I would support."
Kobach supports using "market
forces" to solve Medicare's fiscal problems and drive down
health-care costs.
Voters can look for this to become a major issue in next year's
campaign no matter who wins the GOP nomination.
Odds and ends
Rep. David Huff, a Lenexa Republican, said Tuesday that he planned
to file a bill soon making it illegal for drivers to possess an
electronic device that changes red lights to green at
intersections.
The device, which uses an infrared emitter, currently is used by
emergency vehicles, but Huff said law enforcement officials feared
that some motorists might also have them.
Johnson
County
's legislative delegation will hold a public hearing next month to
hear residents' views on issues to be
considered by the next Kansas Legislature.
The session will begin at
7 p.m.
Dec. 17 in Room 211 of the Carlsen
Center
at
Johnson
County
Community College
in
Overland Park
.
Rep. Doug Patterson, a Leawood
Republican who is delegation chairman, said each resident or
organization would get 10 minutes to make presentations to the
lawmakers.
