The prescription drug discount cards, which the administration rushed out in order to give the elderly some tangible benefit before the election, have also proved a bust. According to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, seniors find them confusing and insufficient for their needs. Adding to dismay about the prescription drug legislation is the fact that drug prices continue to rise rapidly, thus eroding the value of discounts from the drug cards. According to AARP, prices for drugs frequently used by seniors have risen faster since the new law took effect than for any previous period.
Finally, the administration has suffered from the strong-arm tactics it used to ram the drug legislation through Congress. A recent study by Common Cause details these tactics, including an attempt to bribe Rep. Nick Smith, R-Mich, censoring C-SPAN cameras during the vote and withholding critical information about the cost of the program.
This last point was investigated by the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services, who confirmed that career staffers in the department were threatened with disciplinary action should anyone disclose to Congress that the drug bill would cost $134 billion more than it thought. As The Wall Street Journal noted, it is "undeniable" that the Medicare bill would not have passed had the higher cost estimate been known.
Consequently, Republicans are now starting to realize -- as Coca-Cola did -- that they screwed-up big time. As columnist Robert Novak reports, "Senior administration officials privately admit that last year's prescription drug bill was a disaster substantively and politically."
It is here where we really see the difference between the public sector and the private sector. When Coca-Cola executives realized that they had made a big mistake, they switched gears, brought back Classic Coke and eventually deep-sixed New Coke. They had no choice in a competitive marketplace. But government officials never admit error. So Republicans seem intent on slogging the benefits of a new drug benefit that will cost trillions of dollars for people who don't like it.
But there may be hope. According to the National Journal, Democrats in Congress are promising to "repeal and replace" the drug plan next year. It notes that this was successfully done in 1988 after Congress passed a catastrophic health coverage bill that seniors rebelled against. If Republicans are smart, they will take Democrats up on their offer and kill the drug bill before it becomes cemented in place for all time.