"When you're up to your (rear) in alligators," an old saying goes, "it's hard to remember that your original purpose was to drain the swamp."

Capitol Hill is swarming with 'gators, in the form of problems resulting from the new Medicare prescription drug entitlement. And, as problems go, these 'gators are enormous. When the entitlement takes effect next year, it will hike Medicare costs by at least $500 billion in just the first 10 years, put millions of retirees at risk of losing drug coverage now provided by their former employers, and launch a risky experiment in central government health care planning.

Congress' original purpose? To help Medicare patients buy the prescription drugs they need. Fortunately, The Heritage Foundation's top health care expert, Robert Moffit, knows how to drain this swamp. He comes to the rescue with an "agenda for constructive change" to the 2003 law. You can read it here:

Fixing the New Medicare Law # 1: An Agenda for Constructive Change  (April 26, 2004).

For more information or to receive an e-mail version of "Bitter Pills," contact [email protected] or call Heritage Media Services at (202) 675-1761.

"Bitter Pills" is an occasional, but regular, feature from The Heritage Foundation on how the 2003 Medicare drug law is full of sickening "surprises" that have serious consequences for seniors and taxpayers. Of course, The Heritage Foundation isn't surprised at all. We diagnosed the problems long ago in our Medicare Maladies series. Both Medicare Maladies and Bitter Pills are available on heritage.org (if you can stomach them).