Medicare Drug Benefit a Voting Issue for Seniors
Democrats in congressional races "think they can recapture" the majority of seniors' votes on Tuesday after losing that age group's vote in 2004, and some of them have criticized the Medicare prescription drug benefit in an effort to attract seniors, the Wall Street Journal reports. Democrats have said that the federal government should be allowed to directly negotiate Medicare drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.
House Democrats said that if they win the majority, they will change the drug benefit within their first 100 hours in office.
Meanwhile, "Republicans say the prescription drug issue may actually help them," and some have referenced a June Kaiser Family Foundation survey that found 80% of seniors enrolled in the benefit were satisfied with their plans, the Journal reports.
A Pew Research Center poll of 2,369 registered voters released on Sunday showed that 48% of people ages 65 and older are leaning toward voting for a Democrat, while 42% are leaning toward voting for a Republican (Lovley, Wall Street Journal, 11/7).