The $47-Million Retiree Sellout

How White House/GOP donors bought a Medicare bill that lets them cut health benefits

On 10/29/03, President Bush reassured seniors that "corporations have no intention to what they call dump retirees" from their existing drug coverage after the Medicare bill passed. But according to the Wall Street Journal, the White House and its allies in Congress added "a little-noticed provision" to the law which rewards companies with a tax subsidy even if they reduce retirees' existing drug coverage. In effect, the provision creates a financial incentive to reduce retiree benefits.

The Wall Street Journal notes that the provision was pushed primarily by a group called the " Employers' Coalition on Medicare " – an organization made up of corporations that have given President Bush and the RNC more than $47 million since 2000. These same corporations stand to profit from the provision. And it appears at least 10 of them (representing tens of thousands of workers) are have either tried in the past or are trying to slash retiree benefits. These 10 companies, which include 3M, AT&T, Bank of America, DaimlerChrysler, GM, IBM, and Verizon, have alone given more than $17 million. Here is the breakdown of the contributions given to President Bush and his allies in Congress by all of the members of the "Employers Coalition" – contributions that no doubt helped buy this provision.

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