Katrina Relief May Affect Implementation of Medicare Part D

According to this article, Katrina relief efforts are creating a budget deficit that some members of the House and Senate would like to address by postponing implementation of the new Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit. If the benefit were to begin on January 1, 2007 instead of January 1, 2006, $40 billion would be saved.

The Bush Administration strongly opposes any delay in the implementation of Part D, so it is unlikely that the proposed bill will succeed in being signed into law. However, it will be interesting to see what efforts Congress and the President will make to balance the budget as the budget deficit continues to increase.