Reply #24: NYT: Under New Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, Food Stamps May Be Reduced

[Pirate Smile]

By ROBERT PEAR
Published: May 8, 2005
WASHINGTON, May 7 - Elderly people with low incomes may lose some of their food stamps if they sign up for the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, the Bush administration said Saturday.

When Medicare begins covering drugs in January, older Americans will spend less of their own money on drugs and will therefore have more to spend on food, reducing their need for food stamps, officials said.

The new reading of the Medicare law, set forth in a document sent to Congressional offices this week, comes just as federal officials begin a nationwide campaign to persuade low-income people to apply for the drug benefit.

The document, addressed to elderly and disabled people who receive food stamps, says, "You may qualify for extra help paying for your Medicare prescription drug costs." But it adds, "If you qualify for extra help, your food stamp benefits may decline."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/politics/08drugs.html

The NYT picked up the story from David Sirota's blog - here

"NY Times Picks Up Sirotablog Scoop on Medicare
Forgive me for a bit of shameless, irritating self-congratulation, but this is some great news I just had to share because it gives us all hope that we can make an impact and occasionally break through the media din. On Friday May 6th, Sirotablog had an exclusive story uncovering evidence that the Bush administration is now telling Congress and the public that food stamp recipients could see their food stamp benefits eliminated under the new Medicare bill. The New York Times quickly got in touch with me for the details, and now has a prominent story on the scam in its May 8th newspaper.

The administration's efforts to cut food stamps for Medicare recipients stands in stark contrast to its earlier public promises that indicated food stamp benefits would be preserved. And while the mainstream media often ignores such hypocrisy, this time - thankfully - at least the New York Times did not. That's a major victory for the progressives and the blogosphere as a whole, because it makes sure thousands of people will see exactly how the Bush administration is waging an economic war on ordinary Americans.

See the New York Times' full story here. For more details, see the original Sirotablog post that exposed the Bush administration's scam here."

http://www.davidsirota.com/2005/05/ny-times-picks-up-sirotablog-scoop-on.html

Here is the original Sirotablog:

New Medicare Guide Justifies Cutting Food Stamps
If ever there was an example of how the Bush administration robs Peter to pay Paul, this is it. Hard-right political hacks at the Department of Health and Human Services are actually sending out a fact sheet to Capitol Hill and the public about the new Medicare bill that justifies eliminating food stamp benefits to Medicare recipients. This is radical conservatism, without even a hint of compassion.

Specifically, page 2 of the fact sheet asks a hypothetical question that Medicare recipients might ask: "Will I lose my food stamp benefits if I apply and qualify for extra help paying for the new Medicare prescription drug coverage?" The Bush adminstration's answer: "With the Medicare prescription drug coverage, you may see your food stamp benefits go down" and even possibly eliminated. How could they be so heartless to do that? Because they say, "you spend less on drugs" and "the extra cash you will have to spend on food makes up for not getting as much in food stamps." Download the fact sheet sent out by HHS here and see this travesty for yourself.

In other words, for the poorest of the poor, the new Medicare "benefits" aren't necessarily an overall benefit, because the Bush administration openly admits they are taking that benefit out of poor people's ability to put food on their table. This comes on top of Bush's earlier proposal to gut food stamp funding. How disgusting.

http://www.davidsirota.com/2005/05/new-medicare-guide-justifies-cutting_06.html