Clinton drops Medicare prescription drug change

June 26, 1999
Web posted at: 11:13 a.m. EDT (1513 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House has dropped plans to charge Medicare recipients different premiums for prescription drug coverage depending upon their income, CNN has learned.

A top White House official told CNN the new proposal calls for a fixed monthly premium of a still-undisclosed amount. But the rate is believed to be far below the $90 charge for coverage for all recipients.

Senior citizens living below the poverty level will be eligible for a subsidy, the official said.

The decision ends a dispute between Democrats in Congress and the White House over the "means testing" aspect of the prescription drug benefit in the president's Medicare proposal.

House Democrats had feared Republicans would call the sliding-scale benefits proposal a tax increase. A similar proposal had been proposed several years ago and eventually died in Congress. Members of Congress reportedly told White House officials they are concerned about polling figures that show an erosion of support for Democrats among older Americans.

The White House is expected to release its Medicare proposal Tuesday.

White House Correspondent Chris Black contributed to this report.