Democrat Chris Murphy, a Connecticut state senator who is challenging 12-term Republican Rep. Nancy Johnson ( , , ), criticized the GOP for failing to embrace the reforms needed to give seniors a break from increased health care costs.
"It's time for new leadership in Congress, to take on 's bad plan and take the Medicare drug program in a new direction," Murphy said Saturday in his party's weekly radio address.
Murphy warned that unless Democrats can step in with new ideas, such as allowing the government to negotiate for lower Medicare prescription drug prices, health costs will continue rising for seniors.
"The Bush administration announced this week that Medicare premiums will be going up again, and could even carry a new, expensive monthly fee," Murphy said. "This new tax on seniors will affect millions of Americans, and thousands of people in Connecticut.
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Most elderly and disabled people on Medicare will see their premiums rise to $93.50 a month next year, a 5.6 percent increase that is much lower than had been anticipated.
"Being healthy should be a right, not a privilege available only to those that can afford it," said Murphy. "Over the past decade, seniors in this country have been hit with more and more bad news. They face confusing rules, added fees and now higher premiums.
What's worse, Republicans in Congress have done nothing to ease the burden on American seniors."
Johnson, a major player in Congress on Medicare and other health care issues, is among three GOP House incumbents in Connecticut whom national Democrats have targeted in hopes of gaining the 15 seats they need to control the House.
"My opponent, Nancy Johnson, deserves part of the blame," said Murphy.
"She wrote the confusing Medicare law in 2003. She is also one of many Republicans who opposes allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices a Democratic idea, and more importantly, a good idea."
The new Medicare prescription drug benefit is the biggest change since the health program's beginning.
Under the program, elderly beneficiaries enroll in plans administered by private insurers. Seniors had dozens of plans to pick from, leaving many of them confused and frustrated when the program was launched.
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