Frist calls for a Medicare cure and a focus on AIDS crisis

Senator receives James Madison Award at university.

By: Amy Sennett
   Senate Majority Leader William Frist (R-Tenn.) was honored with the American Whig-Cliosophic Society’s James Madison Award Saturday afternoon in the Faculty Room of Nassau Hall at Princeton University.
   In a talk that followed, the senator focused on critical health issues facing the world — and the nation.
   The award is the highest honor bestowed by the society, America’s oldest debating body. Named for the society’s founder, the award is presented annually to a public figure who embodies the fourth U.S. president’s spirit and patriotism.
   Dr. Frist, a member of Princeton’s Class of 1974, has twice sat on Princeton’s board of trustees. In 1994, Dr. Frist, a heart and lung transplant surgeon, became the first physician in the Senate in 66 years. In January, Sen. Frist was elected to the post of Senate Majority Leader.
   Dr. Frist shared with his audience his priorities for the upcoming congressional session. A physician first, Dr. Frist placed much of his emphasis on the worldwide HIV-AIDS epidemic and Medicare reform.
   Having worked annually as a humanitarian doctor in Africa, Dr. Frist said, "HIV and AIDS is probably the greatest humanitarian and moral challenge in our lifetime and maybe the history of the world."
   President Bush has planned a $15 billion aid package for Africa, Dr. Frist said, that links AIDS prevention, care and treatment.
   Dr. Frist recognized the importance of privately funded research and credited the development of generic antiretro viral drugs for drastically reducing treatment costs.
   "For every dollar that the government puts into research, private drug companies invest $22," said Dr. Frist.
   Dr. Frist said he believes a balance must be struck between patent laws that protect the profits of pharmaceutical companies and the need for inexpensive drugs. He proposed a government-sponsored fund that would guarantee a market to drug companies if they continue to invest in new research.
   Dr. Frist also addressed the questionable future of the Medicare system.
   "The system falls apart in seven years because of the demographics of the baby boom," he said. While four people are currently working to support one senior citizen, as baby boomers reach retirement, that number will dip to 2.3 workers, he said.
   "That means taxes will double or you will have to work twice as hard unless a solution is reached," he said.
   "It’s a long-term issue that politicians are not good at," Dr. Frist said. "They are just looking to the next election."
   As the only doctor in the Senate, Dr. Frist is often singled out on issues of bioterrorism. He believes that the government must increase funding for research, prevention and preparedness. But he emphasized that the government’s powers are limited. Dr. Frist has written a book on the subject of bioterrorism and the family.
   "There is only so much the government can do," he said. "The key is an educated, prepared public."
   Dr. Frist described the war on terror and bioterrorism as unprecedented.
   "It is not a war based on geography or a decisive battle," he said. "The measure of success will be what won’t happen."
   In response to Iraq, Dr. Frist maintained the hope that Saddam Hussein would be overthrown.
   "I don’t want war," Dr. Frist said. "The president doesn’t want war."
   "But what you are seeing now is a flexing of the muscle of the United States of America," he said.