The passage of prescription drug benefits under George W. Bush, although less than predictable, was largely due to the coupling of Kingdon’s three streams—problems, politics, and policies—resulting in the formation of a “window of opportunity” to push this important policy initiative forward. There were many culminating events leading up to prescription drug benefits becoming a reality. In the policy stream, the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997 induced the formation of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare, which proposed both “premium support” and later, prescription drug benefits. The proposal of prescription drug benefits for the elderly was advanced by Clinton, who suggested that prescription drug benefits be bundled …show more content…
Passing a less market-driven version of the bill was not an issue in the Senate, but the House proved to be more difficult. The House’s contention with the bill stemmed from one of the anticipated constraints previously mentioned—the federal budget. There was no longer a budget surplus to quell Republicans’ fears about a potential federal-entitlement program that would skyrocket spending (KSG, 16). Nonetheless, two separate versions of the bill passed in both the House and Senate. The major hurdle was ironing out differences between the House and Senate bills in the conference committee, especially in regard to the issue of premium support.
With Republicans on the committee insisting on introducing private competition with traditional government-run Medicare, and Democrats vehemently opposed to premium support, it appeared as though the bill would not make it out alive (KSG 17-18). However, Speaker of the House Hastert and Majority Leader Frist introduced a compromise to committee Chairman Thomas. This eventually was the bill that was signed into law (KSG,
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The plan would require a premium, deductible, and catastrophic coverage with a “donut-hole” in place. Prescription benefits could be purchased as a stand-alone plan offered by private insurers or as part of a private health plan (KSG, 18). The premium support issue was resolved with what would be viewed by Republicans largely as concession more than compromise. Up to six metropolitan regions in the United States would roll out demonstration programs over six years, beginning in 2010. Other concessions included a switch from higher out-of-pocket caps for high-income beneficiaries to an increase in premiums in Medicare Part B, as well as cuts in health savings accounts. However, as Kingdon would predict, the key stakeholders in Medicare reform were not willing to lose the entire policy over disputes over premium support and other wrinkles in the bill. As he notes, “one fears that failure to join would result in exclusion from the benefits of participation” (JK, 160-161). Delivering on a private market policy would please the Republican base, and Bush would claim credit for following through on a campaign
Since its establishment in 1965 we have seen Medicare change as people’s needs change however being a federal program these changes do have an incredible amount of lag time. One of the first major changes to Medicare occurred in 1972 when President Nixon signed the Social Security Amendments of 1972 which extended coverage to individuals under age 65 with long-term disabilities, expanded benefits to include some chiropractic services and speech and physical therapy. During this time we see the American public growing tired of the Vietnam Conflict and lack of support and care for those returning Marines and soldiers with severe disabilities. As the protests escalate and the peace initiatives fail a key piece of legislation is signed showing government support and a willingness to extend health care benefits to this growing and vocal population of veterans (The Vietnam War, 1999). Also included in this Amendment is the encouragement of the use of Health Maintenance Organizations, President Nixon’s administration caught in the scandal of Watergate and pending hearings appeased the left and proposed the HMO Act, which Congress passed in 1973 (Phillips, 2003).
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) had mame dramatic changes in the field of the health care system, especially in Medicare, that will seriously take effect in American seniors. Indeed, much of the health law’s new spending is financed by spending reductions in the Medicare program. In addition to the provider payment reductions, Obamacare significantly reduces payments to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans by an estimated $156 billion from 2013 to 2022.( Elmendorf, letter to Speaker Boehner). About 27 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in MA plans, a system of regulated and private plans competing against each other as an alternative to traditional Medicare. MA plans are attractive to beneficiaries because they offer more generous and comprehensive coverage than traditional Medicare by capping out-of-pocket costs and offering drug coverage to a rasonable
The New York Times printed an article by Robert Pear, which reported that on December 24, 2009, the US senate passed the first bill, which would call for major reform regarding health care in the United States (Pear). The article titled “Senate Passes Health Care Overhaul on Party-Line Vote,” discusses the fact that while this step was a major milestone in the process of providing Americans with affordable heath care, it was not the end of the road. Over the coming months and years there would be a lot of give and take between democrats and republicans to revise the bill to the point where both sides could support it. One of the major points in this reform is that the US government was now going to offer affordable plans including subsidy options which would allow more Americans affordable options which were
rehend the PPACA, one must understand the history of the United States’ health care system. The most successful and known reform would be the passage of Medicare and Medicaid. President Johnson’s main objective with his program was to provide health insurance to those over 65 years old, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to receive coverage due to retirement or being financially unfit to purchase health insurance. It has since been expanded to cover those with disabilities, and lower income families (“Overview,” 2015). Brady (2015) examines President Clinton’s attempt to massively overhaul health care in the United States. His plan, the Health Security Act (HSA), required employers to offer health insurance to their employees, and mandated that every US citizen purchase health insurance. This plan would have most likely expand health insurance to many more Americans; however, many feared the large tax increases, restricted options for patients, and with the lack of general support for the bill, it failed in Congress and was never implemented (p. 628). President Clinton’s failed attempt at health care reform opened up the door to future reforms, and it even shared multiple similarities to the PPACA. Smith (2015) updates the history of the health care system in America stating that “In the mid-2000s, America’s uninsured population swelled to nearly 47 million, representing about 16 percent of the population” and how “16 million Americans […] were underinsured” (p. 2). People
President Obama’s pledge to pay for the program by taxing the rich, who is anyone that makes more than $1 million a year (which would include President Obama) and will make for “a marketplace that provides choice and competition” (Conniff, 2009). He also proposes that reform is about every American who has ever feared losing their coverage if they become too sick, lose their jobs or even change their jobs. It’s realizing that the biggest force behind our deficit is the growing costs for Medicare and Medicaid programs.”
On December 8, 2003, President Bush signed into law the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (Pub. L. 108-173). This landmark legislation provides seniors and individuals with disabilities with a prescription drug benefit, more choices, and better benefits under Medicare. It produced the largest overhaul of Medicare in the public health program's 38-year history. The MMA was signed by President George W. Bush on December 8, 2003, after passing in Congress by a close margin. One month later, the ten-year cost estimate was boosted to $534 billion, up more than $100 billion over the figure presented by the Bush administration
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans unveiled their health care bill draft Thursday, leading to a mixed reaction from lawmakers and outside organizations about the replacement for former President Barack Obama's health care law.
Grier, P. (2009). Three big differences between house and senate healthcare bills: even if the senate healthcare bill is approved, reconciling it to the house bill will take a concerted effort on three major points: who bears the cost, the public option, and abortion funding. The Christian Science Monitor. 21. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu
The Pharmaceutical lobbyist has a very powerful impact on the outcome of Medicare Part D. They were the ones that wrote the bill and presented it to the House and ultimately, it was passed. However, the tactics that were used were extremely questionable and unethical. A Democratic Representative from Michigan stated: “I can tell you when the bill passed, there were better than 1,000 pharmaceutical lobbyists working on this” (Singer, 2007). The
U.S. health care reform is currently one of the most heavily discussed topics in health discourse and politics. After former President Clinton’s failed attempt at health care reform in the mid-1990s, the Bush administration showed no serious efforts at achieving universal health coverage for the millions of uninsured Americans. With Barack Obama as the current U.S. President, health care reform is once again a top priority. President Obama has made a promise to “provide affordable, comprehensive, and portable health coverage for all Americans…” by the end of his first term (Barackobama.com). The heated debate between the two major political parties over health care reform revolves around how to pay for it and more importantly, whether it
The National healthcare debate is one that has been a continuing arguing point for the last decade. The goal is to provide healthcare to all Americans, regardless of whether they are able to afford insurance or not. In 2009, the U.S. National Health Care Act failed to come to be debated in the house. This Act would have called for the creation of a universal single-payer health care system. Under the policies this Act would enact, all medically-necessary medical care decided between doctor and patient would be paid for automatically and directly by the Government of the United States. In place of this Act, the compromise was the
The purpose of this essay is to discuss Medicare Part D, as well as the influence of the various interest groups and governmental entities during this process. This essay will discuss both the policy process and the policy environment (the key players involved and other circumstances that shaped this policy-making effort), how stakeholder groups influenced the final outcome of Medicare Part D legislation, the specific strategies and tools that were used most effectively, and if the fact that Medicare Part D passed corresponds with my understanding of policy and politics.
Due to the upcoming presidential election, the two major political parties, and their candidates, have been focusing on the primary problems that the nation will face. Chief among those problems is the future of Medicare, the national health-insurance plan. Medicare was enacted in 1965, under the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson, in order to provide health insurance for retired citizens and the disabled (Ryan). The Medicare program covers most people aged 65 or older, as well as handicapped people who enroll in the program, and consists of two health plans: a hospital insurance plan (part A) and a medical insurance plan (part B) (Marmor 22). Before Medicare, many Americans didn't have health
President Clinton introduced the Health Security Proposal in 1993. The Health Security Proposal was supposed to be the answer to the United States healthcare crisis. The Health Security Proposal was to provide comprehensive universal healthcare to all Americans, with a key provision in the proposal known as managed care or competition. This would allow states and employers to work together to make different plans available in return, providing competition among the different providers of the healthcare plans The proposal was also going have large employers pay for healthcare while, small employers would have subsidies provided by the government. The proposal also offered other cost controls and insurance reforms.
In this paper I will provide my understanding on why I feel Clinton’s Health Plan was unsuccessful. I will discuss the features of Clinton’s health care reform plan and provide my reasons I feel it failed. I will also discuss the influences of the various interests groups and governmental entities that were present during this process. Lastly I will discuss the policy process and policy environment key players that were involved and the other circumstances that shaped this policy-making effort.