By MARK SHERMAN
(AP) President Bush addresses a gathering on senior medicare benefits at the Englewood Neighborhood...
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WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican congressional leaders said they sealed a tentative agreement Saturday on a new prescription drug benefit for the nation's seniors, the largest expansion in Medicare's history.
"We have come to an agreement on principle," Senate Majority Bill Frist said.
Talks that lasted most of the day smoothed over the last remaining wrinkles in the bill, including a proposal to have traditional Medicare compete directly with new private insurance plans and a plan to encourage employers to maintain drug coverage for retirees, officials said.
The agreement ends months of negotiations over the drug benefit and a broad reworking of the Medicare program to give private insurers a new large role in health care for 40 million older and disabled Americans.
It must win approval of House and Senate negotiators, many of whom have been meeting for months in search of a compromise. The legislation would then go to the full House and Senate, where tough questions await.
