Bush Exaggerating His Medicare "Success"

You may have heard President Bush touting the success of his Medicare Prescription Drug plan in recent days, claiming that 30 million people are now receiving prescription drug coverage, with an additional 5.8 million receiving drug coverage from the Veterans Administration (VA), a current employer, or other miscellaneous sources.

THIS IS FAR FROM THE TRUTH.

What the Bush Administration fails to mention, is 75% of these beneficiaries ALREADY had prescription drug coverage before the President's prescription drug plan.

That means of the 35.8 million people the President is trying to take credit for, 26.8 already had coverage before the January 1st enrollment period even began. These groups of individuals include:

• 10.3 million through an employer or union plan
• 5.8 million through Medicaid
• 4.9 million through their Medicare Advantage plan
• 5.8 million through the VA, their current employer or other miscellaneous sources.