  Generic Confusion  When you leave, my blog just fades to grey
Tuesday, November 30, 2004  Medicare drug benefit costs
Remember the controversy over the true cost of the Medicare drug
benefit? Now we have a first-hand report from one of the central
figures of the controversy, Medicare chief actuary Richard S.
Foster. The article discusses the issue of being ordered not to
respond to Congressional requests, and how that fits with the
actuarial profession's code of professional conduct.  One key
point is that while the media reports that President Bush or
Republicans were part of some sinister conspiracy to conceal the
true cost of the drug benefit, Foster reports:  In February
2004, the administration publicly acknowledged our estimates of
the cost of the Medicare modernization act as part of the
president's fiscal year 2005 budget. This action prompted a new
round of news articles, mostly focusing on the significantly
higher level of our cost estimate ($534 billion through 2013)
compared with the Congress