Seniors May Get Drug Coverage Under New Plan

Tens of millions of U.S. seniors would receive prescription drug coverage for the first time under a Medicare proposal that President Clinton will unveil this month, a top White House official said Sunday.

White House Chief of Staff John Podesta said Clinton’s plan would require seniors to pay a “modest premium” in exchange for prescription drug benefits.

“I think it will include a prescription drug benefit that will be universal and affordable,” Podesta said of Clinton’s Medicare proposal on CBS-TV’s “Face the Nation.”

“We’ll ask tens of millions of Medicare beneficiaries that today do not have any prescription drug coverage, we’ll ask them to pay a modest premium. But in exchange for that, they will have a prescription drug benefit that’s better than anything you can buy today.”

Podesta declined to provide details but said Clinton, who has pressured Congress to tackle Medicare this year, would announce his proposals this month.

Without major changes, Medicare will face tremendous financial strains once the huge baby boom generation begins to retire in about a decade.

Medicare does not cover any medication costs, leaving some financially strapped seniors unable to pay for drugs.

Republicans say a broad drug benefit is too costly. The U.S. pharmaceutical industry also is resisting Medicare prescription coverage because drug makers fear it could lead to government price controls.