Nice

Knight-Ridder (01.17.06):

"The federal government won't repay states that are making emergency purchases for hundreds of thousands of poor, sick people whose new Medicare drug coverage isn't yet working, Medicare officials say. Instead, those states must recoup the money from the private plans that began providing drug coverage Jan. 1 on behalf of Medicare." Medicare won't reimburse states for emergency drug costs

"Medicare administrator Mark McClellan said the new Medicare legislation was clear: 'Under this program, we don't have the authority to pay states directly. People are in Medicare drug plans and it's the Medicare plans that are supposed to pay for the medications.'" As we'll all aware by now, the new prescription drug plan has been an incredible fiasco. "The problems have been so widespread that more than 20 states have stepped in to pay drug claims that should have been paid by the federal Medicare program." And now the states "will bear the cost of filing hundreds of thousands of claims with the dozens of private drug plans that provide Medicare coverage within their borders." Republican Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, the chairman of the National Governors Association, had this to say: "'We're doing the federal government a favor. We're in essence loaning them money while they get their problems worked out. Now we're going to not only become the bank, but the collection agency? Next, we'll be manufacturing the drugs and selling them,' he said Tuesday." As if the Republicans don't have enough to explain to the voters this coming November. Competency. Coming to a government near you soon.