Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. – President Bush tried Monday to drum up support for a Medicare prescription drug benefit that begins next year, encouraging audiences to learn about the new plan even if they don’t want to sign up.
“Some folks simply don’t want any change, and I understand that completely. But I urge you to take a look,” Bush said at a senior citizens center.
Bush said the program contains many options for consumers. “The more options available, the more likely it is you’re going to get what you want,” he said.
Focusing on a domestic issue amid rising criticism of his handling of the Iraq war, the president spent the day pitching the benefit program here and in Arizona. He also was traveling to San Diego, where he planned to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II with a speech today that would also make reference to the Iraq war. First lady Laura Bush was traveling with him.
In both stops, the president told residents he would work with governors in the Southwest to secure the border and address illegal immigration. “There’s more we can do,” Bush said at a recreation center in El Mirage, Ariz. “We have an obligation to enforce the border.”
On Medicare, Bush said he understands “that many seniors don’t want to change and that they’re not interested in change.”
“If you’re worried about change, you do not have to change when it comes to Medicare. But if you’re someone, for example, who’s having to struggle between food and medicine, those days are over with,” he said.
As Bush made his remarks, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that the government will offer prescription-drug coverage with lower premiums than expected. It said people in each state, except Alaska, will have the choice of at least one plan that offers some benefit for a monthly premium under $20.
Enrollment in the benefit program starts Nov. 15. When it takes effect Jan. 1, about 43 million beneficiaries will be able to choose from two or more private plans that offer drug coverage.
Congress approved the benefit as part of a Medicare overhaul law Bush pushed in 2003 to help seniors cope with skyrocketing drug costs. But critics, mainly Democrats, argue that the benefit program is too complex and doesn’t cover enough drugs.
