White House rejects Republican elderly drug plan

By Randall Mikkelsen/Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House Monday rejected a Republican proposal for a stopgap prescription drug benefit for low-income elderly people, saying it would leave many uncovered and delay a broader Medicare drugs plan.

"The president will not support any initiative that is nothing more than an empty promise that will delay the likelihood of getting a Medicare drug benefit," White House health policy chief Chris Jennings told reporters.

Providing prescription drug coverage for the 40 million elderly and disabled Americans in the Medicare health program, which currently does not provide drug coverage, has become a major issue in this year's political campaigns.

Jennings stopped short of vowing that President Clinton would veto of any proposal similar to one introduced last week by Republican Sen. William Roth of Delaware. The Roth measure would give states $20 billion to $31 billion to enroll low-income seniors in drug-assistance plans. But Jennings made clear that approach was unacceptable.

"There is absolutely no reason for him (Clinton) ... to want to move towards a policy that will undermine the outcome of providing a meaningful, affordable prescription drug benefit for seniors and people with disabilities," Jennings said.

He spoke as the White House released a report asserting that the Roth plan would explicitly exclude more that 25 million Medicare beneficiaries and would effectively fail to reach more than half of those low-income beneficiaries the plan aims to help.

BUSH'S PLAN SIMILAR

Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush has proposed a plan similar to Roth's as the first step toward a broader program that Bush proposed to help low-income senior citizens pay for prescription drugs.

Democratic nominee Al Gore supports the Clinton administration proposal to offer optional prescription drug coverage to all Medicare patients -- not just the low-income seniors envisioned in the Republican plan.

Roth, chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, is facing a tough re-election battle this year in his home state and has been taking a lead in Republican efforts on the drugs issue.

"I can't for the life of me explain why someone would want to advocate this policy," Jennings said of the Roth plan.

Roth said last week in unveiling his plan that it was "a safety net -- not a final solution," and would be the quickest way to begin providing prescription drug assistance to the seniors who need it the most.

However, Jennings said many middle-income senior citizens who would not be eligible under the Roth plan need drug coverage just as badly as low-income seniors targeted by the Republicans.

He said state programs that would administer the aid fail to reach a sizable share of those who are eligible. Furthermore, he said, an effort to pass the Republican proposal now inevitably would dissipate momentum for a broad Medicare prescription drugs plan.

Jennings said the White House remained willing to negotiate elements of its proposal, and was prepared to work for the rest of the year, if necessary, to pass an acceptable plan.

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