Florida: U.S. House of Representatives, 13th District

Candidates

Katherine Harris, Republican
Jan Schneider, Democrat

Issues: Prescription Drugs | Social Security | Health Care |

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Question

Many people with Medicare lack adequate coverage for prescription drugs and face skyrocketing costs. What solution do you support to help Medicare beneficiaries pay for their drugs?

AARP Response

AARP believes an acceptable Medicare drug benefit needs to meet the following tests:

First, the benefit must offer real value at an affordable price. The monthly premium should be less than $35. The beneficiary’s deductible and co-payments should be reasonable and affordable, (e.g. a deductible no greater than $250). There should be no gaps in coverage, leaving persons to pay 100% of high out-of-pocket costs.

Second, the benefit should be available to all Medicare beneficiaries on a voluntary basis. No one should be forced into the program. But no one should also be denied access to a Medicare drug benefit because of where they live, how sick they might be, or how much or how little income they have.

Third, the plan must help bring down soaring drug costs.

Fourth, the plan must include additional help for low-income persons.

Issue	Yes	No	Unclear
Creates an affordable monthly premium
Supports a fair deductible and co-payment
Provides no gaps in coverage

Candidate Response: Katherine Harris

As Congresswoman, I would support providing a prescription drug benefit. Our seniors should not have to choose between buying groceries or their life-saving medication. I also support the Medicare prescription drug plan passed by the House of Representatives because it proves to be affordable, available, and completely voluntary. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicts 95% of seniors will sign up for this program if it is implemented with a premium of $35 a month, or roughly $1 a day. This plan will save beneficiaries 30% on gross drug costs through better negotiating power. There is also extra assistance for low-income households, specifically a fully subsidized premium and cost sharing up to 150% of poverty ($15,065 income for singles and $19,392 couples, based on 2005 income).

Candidate Response: Jan Schneider

Senator Bob Graham introduced a good bill to help Medicare beneficiaries pay for their outpatient prescription drugs (although I strongly preferred his original version to a later compromise). More generally, I support the Democratic prescription drug proposals. Such coverage should involve an affordable monthly premium and should not involve gaps or private provider provisions found in Republican counterparts. If necessary, I would even freeze currently scheduled additional tax cuts (52% of which would benefit the top 1% of taxpayers) to fund such measures.

Question

Do you support or oppose replacing part of Social Security with individual accounts?

AARP Response

AARP strongly opposes replacing ANY part of Social Security with individual accounts. Social Security is not in crisis. Without any changes in current law, Social Security can pay 100% of benefits until 2041. But individual accounts funded with Social Security dollars mean Social Security would face financial problems sooner.

"Personal control" sounds appealing. But substituting private accounts, even for part of Social Security, drains money from Social Security, which means less money to pay guaranteed benefits.

Creating these private accounts requires trading today’s inflation-protected lifetime guaranteed benefit for an account subject to market risk and not guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Inflation, market turns, or sudden loss of employment can also mean that your private account may not have enough money to provide an adequate benefit. AARP supports options that help Americans save for their retirement through individual accounts on top of Social Security; but opposes replacing any part of Social Security’s guaranteed benefit.

Issue	Yes	No	Unclear
Creates individual accounts out of Social Security
Position means less money for guaranteed benefits
Position guarantees benefits for your lifetime

Candidate Response: Katherine Harris

I oppose privatization of Social Security, increasing the retirement age, and raising taxes. We must bolster Social Security, guaranteeing our seniors and near retirees the benefits they have been promised. I also support a budget that would protect the Social Security trust fund and provide for cost of living adjustments.

Candidate Response: Jan Schneider

Oppose. I am adamantly opposed to replacing part of Social Security with individual accounts. We could, however, keep Social Security as it is – and increase the IRA exemption on federal tax returns from the current $2,000, as an additional incentive for retirement savings.

Question

In the face of escalating costs, how would you reform the health care system to make it available, affordable and accessible for every American?

AARP Response

AARP supports measures to achieve access to affordable health care coverage for all individuals, an approach that would address the needs of those without public or private insurance or those at risk of losing coverage.

In the absence of universal coverage, AARP supports incremental reforms specifically targeted to particular populations that significantly improve coverage options for those without public or private insurance or those at risk for losing coverage.

These reforms include:

• Opening existing public programs (e.g. Medicaid) to new categories of people who are uninsured;
  
  
• Inducing employers to offer coverage;
  
  
• Subsidizing the cost of private coverage for those who are uninsured, underinsured, or at risk of losing coverage;
  
  
• Expanding the continuation of group health care coverage at group rates to persons whose access is ending (e.g. expanding COBRA coverage).
  
  

Issue	Yes	No	Unclear
Supports health care for all Americans
Proposes steps to cover more people

Candidate Response: Katherine Harris

I am in favor of “patient empowerment” with the use of tax credits and Medical Savings Accounts. These programs will remove the third party from making medical decisions and will give seniors control over their own resources. MSA’s were originally established as a pilot program with a cap of 750,000 participants under the Kennedy-Kassebaum bill. I support removing the cap on the number of MSA’s allowed nationwide and lowering the required deductibles. These changes would be more attractive to both employers and employees, and would allow MSA’s to be used with common insurance plans available today, thus covering more people.

Candidate Response: Jan Schneider

Although possessing the most expensive health care system, the United States ranks 37th in the world in terms of quality. Some 43 million Americans, including ten million children, are uninsured, and tens of millions more are underinsured. The Medicare system is outdated and in need of reform (including full prescription drug coverage), and many states are severely cutting back on Medicaid payments. Overall, this country needs to move towards a viable national health care system. Among other things, I support the House Concurrent Resolution 99, the Health Care Access Resolution, which provides that the Congress shall enact legislation to guarantee every person in the United States access to qualify, timely-provided, cost-efficient health care by October 2004.