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Medicare Alert Revised

July 1, 2003

During the early morning hours of Friday, June 27, 2003, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed different versions of Medicare Prescription Drug coverage and so-called Medicare Reform. S. 1 and H.R. 1 offer a drug benefit for seniors that is inadequate, unaffordable, and discriminates against retirees that currently receive prescription drug coverage from their former employers. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), enactment of these bills will cause 4.4 million retirees to lose their prescription drug coverage.

H.R. 1, by far the more conservative of the two, privatizes Medicare beginning in 2010 by changing it to a defined contribution structure, in contrast to todays defined benefit. Furthermore, it requires means testing for seniors, thus destroying the concept of "universality," a cornerstone of the Social Security/Medicare system.

When Congress returns from recess on July 7, these two bills will move to a Conference Committee. It will fall to a select group of Senators and Representatives to work out the differences between S.1 and H.R. 1. If the conference committee can "fix" the differences between these bills, expect a vote on final passage before the end of July.

We do not expect the Conference Committee to make these bills better. Thats why, if you have not yet done so, please go to the IBEWs Congressional Action Center and send an E-mail Action Alert to your Senators and Representative.