Medicare drug costs will rise under Senate healthcare reform provisions

"Medicare recipients could see higher premiums for prescription drug coverage as a result of changes to complex provisions in a Senate health care bill . . . As the prescription benefit is designed now, taxpayers cover three-fourths of the cost of the benefit, while Medicare recipients pay the remaining 25 percent. The amendment would allow the new Medicare commission to recommend "reductions in federal premium subsidies" to the private insurance plans that deliver the prescription drug benefit."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MEDICARE_DRUGS?SITE=WIMIL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

In other words, seniors and retirees will eventually pay a greater share of the cost of their prescription drug benefit in order to subsidize healthcare reform.

I'll never understand why they are promising that more people will get better coverage without spending any more money or cutting anyone's benefits. Everyone knows that's a lie. They should have simply said, "More people and better coverage will cost more money, and it's worth it."