Moran knows something’s got to go

Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays, didn’t vote for the Medicare prescription drug boondoggle in the first place. Now, to his further credit, he’s supporting a two-year postponement of the program (except for the lowest-income seniors) to help cover the immense costs of Hurricane Katrina. He’s also advocating a one-year moratorium on all 2006 earmarks, those pork expenditures lawmakers inject into larger bills. All of this is a political long shot — especially given how many drug-taking senior citizens vote — but it’s good to see a member of the Kansas delegation facing facts on what Katrina and Rita should mean for the federal budget.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

4 Comments

  1. Galahad
    Posted September 28, 2005 at 8:06 am | Permalink

    Cut Medicare to help hurricane victims.

    Rob the victims of bad health to help the victims of bad weather.

    How about we stop the war in Iraq and use the money to help both Medicare and hurricane victims?

    How about we stop the tax cuts for the rich and help old people live longer?

    How about we let Medicare negotiate drug prices like every other large buying group does?

    Nah, that would make RICH people sacrifice something. Can’t have that, and call yourself Republican.

  2. Joe Williams
    Posted September 28, 2005 at 9:31 am | Permalink

    Galahad. Seniors are the riches demographic group in America. There are more millionairs that are over 65 than any other age group. They are the so called filthy rich with the Bush tax cuts. But its ok to give them Free Medication?

    I say get rid of the perscription drug plan for all the seniors with the exception of the poor ones. Just as Moran suggested, but forever, not just a two year stop.

    It is politically unpopular amoung the give-me generation. But I doubt this will hurt him in the next election cycle. He is about the safest seat in Congress.

  3. Galahad
    Posted September 28, 2005 at 10:23 am | Permalink

    I dispute your conclusions, JoeW.

    Just because a group has more millionaires doesn’t mean the group has less need for health care.

    The over 65 demographic may have, say, 10 percent more millionaires, than other age groups, but it may also have a majority that earn less than the median annual income.

    Something like one-fourth of all seniors rely entirely on Social Security to live on.

    Older people have more health problems that require drugs.

    We need health care for all and drug assistance for all in this nation, just like every other industrialized country has (except us).

    We don’t need to rob one needy group to pay another.

  4. Jed
    Posted September 28, 2005 at 12:53 pm | Permalink

    Joe,The problem is that the level at which they define “poor” is so low that doctors will have to write prescripions for groceries too. There is no way a person living on $15,000 can spend upwards of $5,000 on prescriptions, and it doesn’t take that many prescriptions to cost that much and more. Some are more than $300 a month- that’s $3600 a year. For one prescription! Yet under their guidelines, he wouldn’t be poor enough to be eligible, even though he can’t even afford the gas to go get the prescriptions he can’t afford.