Democrats write new prescription

The Next Congress

Fifth of five parts

Democrats would use a new majority in Congress next year to highlight contentious health care issues such as high prescription-drug prices and funding for stem-cell research. Republicans, meanwhile, would push for an expansion of consumer-driven health care to reduce U.S. reliance on entitlement programs.

Democrats would face stiff opposition from the Bush administration on their health care agenda, which is why many specialists predict that even if the party wins the majority in Congress in next week’s midterm elections, it will use its newfound control to define a health care agenda for the 2008 presidential election.

Gaining a majority would offer Democrats a chance to push their health care priorities at a level they haven’t been able to since President Clinton occupied the White House.

“If the Democrats take one or both houses of Congress, the prospects of significant policy changes seem fairly remote,” said Scott Lilly, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a Democrat-oriented research organization. “That does not mean the next two years will not be an important period. There is the possibility of a rich debate over policy options that the country has not had in more than half a decade — in particular on health care.”

Democrats have an outside chance of taking complete control of Congress, but a better chance of winning one chamber, and in this series, The Washington Times has looked at how such a transfer of power will affect U.S. policy and politics.

Big plans

At the top of the Democrats’ health care agenda is giving the federal government the ability to negotiate Medicare drug prices directly with the pharmaceutical companies.

“First, Democrats would repeal the ban on allowing Medicare to use the bargaining power of its 43 million beneficiaries to negotiate lower drug prices,” said Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California has made it clear in recent weeks that the Democrats would make negotiating Medicare drug prices a high priority. Medicare is the federal health insurance program for seniors.

A Democratic majority also would focus on expanding health insurance for children and stem-cell research.

If Republicans retain their majority in Congress, they would push to improve the private health care system through an expansion of health savings accounts and tax deductions for people in private health plans.

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