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CONGRESS OF THE
UNITED STATES November 5, 2003
The Honorable George W. Bush Dear Mr. President: The Medicare conference has been attempting to reconcile differences between the House and Senate Medicare prescription drug bills for more than three months, but the most critical issues remain unresolved. With the end of the session fast approaching, time is running out for agreement on a bipartisan program that will provide senior citizens and the disabled the solid prescription drug benefit they need. We are writing to urge you to exert your leadership to forge an acceptable compromise. Throughout our careers, we have worked to strengthen Medicare and to improve health care for all Americans. And we are prepared to work closely with you to develop a plan that protects and strengthens Medicare and provides senior citizens and the disabled the prescription drug benefits they need and deserve. A bipartisan plan has already passed the Senate, and we are prepared to work with you on a conference proposal that will strike a bipartisan balance. If such a bipartisan plan can be developed, we believe it will receive the strong support in both the House and the Senate necessary to pass and become law. No plan that undermines Medicare, however, deserves to be enacted. Senior citizens and the disabled should not be forced to make a false choice between the doctors they trust and the prescription drugs they need. A program that could force up Medicare premiums or squander Medicare resources on excessive subsidies to HMOs, PPOs, and other private insurance plans is not acceptable. This type of competition does not save money for Medicare and puts senior citizens and people with disabilities at risk. Artificial caps on the Medicare program have no place in legislation designed to help senior citizens, nor do provisions that could cause the elderly to lose good retirement coverage provided by former employers. We also believe that Health Savings Accounts may undermine insurance for current workers and are unrelated to issues in this conference. We will work vigorously to pass a bipartisan bill providing solid prescription drug coverage through our respective houses of Congress. We stand ready to work with you and the members of the conference to achieve this objective while ensuring that senior citizens can keep their Medicare and protecting the good retirement coverage that millions of seniors now enjoy. Your Administration and the Congress have an historic opportunity to fill one of the most important gaps in Medicare-its failure to cover prescription drugs. Ideological agendas and insistence on partisan proposals must not be allowed to make this a missed opportunity. Senior citizens need help and they need it now. Sincerely, Edward M. Kennedy John D. Dingell
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