Medicare provides health insurance for 40 million Americans and almost everyone contributes to its funding. But Medicare is headed towards bankruptcy. Despite this, all politicians in Washington are so frightened about possible voter reaction in the next election that they are in pure panic mode to pass anything by the end of July that has the words "drug coverage" on it. They should remember their mother's warning, "Haste makes waste."

The recent rhetoric efforts in the Senate have produced what even the Washington Post in its editorial on the subject characterized as "a mishmash, in some ways containing the worst elements of both sides of the partisan debate." A debate is scheduled for all this week, with a vote to follow that everyone expects to pass and be forwarded to the House of Representatives for final action. It is unstoppable, according to the pundits.

We have been here before. It was called the catastrophic health coverage debacle. Remember that, when seniors went after the Ways and Means Committee chairman, even rocking his limo? The next year, Congress was so embarrassed, it had to go back and repeal the bill-the first time in history it had to do so. Congress is asking for more of the same this time, and the conservative organizations are leading the revolt once again as they did against Hillary Clinton's attempt to control America's medical destiny.

President George Bush originally laid out some sound basic ideas for reform, ones that called for medical coverage choices that would truly reform Medicare based on the successful federal employees plan. It does not offer much choice and it requires a monthly premium and co-insurance before catastrophic coverage becomes effective. While paying for benefits and coinsurance are sound ideas, this was precisely what led to the revolt the last time and proved so politically explosive.

As the president has argued, drug coverage should take place only in the context of wholesale reform of Medicare. As was clear in the battle over the Hillary Clinton insurance plan, the real fight in health care is ever the details, and many of them will decrease quality and cost seniors more.

Provisions will discourage private insurance and dramatically increase future government spending. The enormous $400 billion figure is only the start and will create a platform for increases next year. Even The Post calls the Senate plan "infinitely expandable." That is why Sen. Teddy Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, has said he will support the bill and come back next year with "improvements."

Bill Clinton's former Medicare chief is so happy that the Republicans are going to do what she and Hillary could not, she could barely contain her enthusiasm. "Democrats should do everything they can to whisk it to his [the president's] desk. In signing it, as he will surely be forced to do, he will preside over the biggest expansion of government health benefits since the "Great Society."

This is a poor plan for seniors, it is the biggest increase in government spending and control in recent times, it pushes up the date for bankruptcy by years, and it was written in secret and passed in haste.

This is a bad bill that citizens should demand either be changed significantly or be vetoed by the president. If not, the politicians should remember what happened the last time. Once the details become known, it might prove very embarrassing in an election year.

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Donald Devine, former director Of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, is a columnist and a Washington-based policy consultant and a Vice Chairman for the American Conservative Union.