Prescribing privilege.

• Author: Peters, Charles
• Position: Tilting at Windmills - Brief Article

Sen. Mark Dayton is making Washington officialdom nervous. He has slipped an amendment into the Senate's prescription drug bill that would cut drug coverage under the congressional health plan to the level Congress provides for the public. Bureaucrats from the White House down through the ranks of the civil service are worried that they too might be affected. What would happen if the public ever found out about the generous health benefits federal officials enjoy? Would the people demand the same coverage for themselves, or will the Dayton amendment mean a reduction in the feds' goodies?

There is a difference between the two sets of benefits.

On drugs, under the most popular federal plan, the congressman or other federal official pays only 25 percent of the cost. There's no deductible, and the official pays nothing at all after the total reaches $4,000. Under the Senate's plan for the people, each person must first pay a $275 deductible, then 50 percent of the cost of the prescription. Once their costs reach $2,000, the people pay 100 percent until the...