| Bush - Gore Debate: Money | |
|
The debate over health care and a prescription drug plan for seniors closely resembled the debate over tax cuts. The candidates disagreed over who gets what and when they get it.
Gov. Bush did offer a proposal for overhauling the Medicare program.
BUSH: I've got a plan on Medicare, for example, that's a two- stage plan that says we're going to have immediate help for seniors in what I call "Immediate Helping Hand," a $48 billion program.
Gore attacked Bush's "Immediate Helping Hand" as a program that would turn Medicare into "a government HMO," under which, "Ninety-five percent of all seniors would get no help whatsoever ... for the first four or five years."
GORE: "Under the Medicare prescription drug proposal I'm making, here's how it works: You go to your own doctor and your doctor chooses your prescription, and no HMO or insurance company can take those choices away from you. Then you go to your own pharmacy, you fill the prescription and Medicare pays half the cost. If you're in a very poor family or you have very high costs, Medicare will pay all the costs -- a $25 premium and much better benefits than you can possibly find in the private sector."
Gore also criticized Bush's Seniors' prescription drug plan under his Immediate Helping Hand program. According to Gore, low-income seniors would not get assistance with prescription costs for "four to five years."
Bush accused Gore of trying to "scare" voters and stated his plan would give seniors immediate help, "Instead of squabbling and finger-pointing."
Bush stated that he would set aside $3.4 trillion for Medicare over the next 10 years.
Gore said that he would put Medicare funds into an "an iron-clad lockbox" that would prevent its use for anything not related to Medicare.
From Their Past
Policy Statements
Outside last night's debate, here are what the candidates have stated on the
health care:
Bush would: Offer medical savings accounts to all Americans.
Gore would: Give persons ages 55-65 an option to "buy into" the Medicare program.
Bush would: Provide Medicare members with a private-sector based prescription drug benefit. Give low-income seniors prescription drug subsidies.
Gore would: Use part of the surplus for a voluntary prescription drug benefit for Medicare members. Set up "catastrophic" prescription drug coverage for seniors with chronic illnesses.
