States Intervene After Drug Plan Hits Early Snags -- NYT frontpage

[Bozita]

above the fold, top left

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/national/08medicare.html?hp&ex=1136782800&en=5bdbdc920f2a14b0&ei=5094&partner=homepage

January 8, 2006


States Intervene After Drug Plan Hits Early Snags
By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 - Low-income Medicare beneficiaries around the country were often overcharged, and some were turned away from pharmacies without getting their medications, in the first week of Medicare's new drug benefit. The problems have prompted emergency action by some states to protect their citizens.

Although there are no hard numbers, concerns expressed by state officials and complaints from pharmacists suggest a widespread pattern of problems.

At least four states - Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Vermont - acted this week to make sure poor people received the drugs they were promised but could not obtain through the federal Medicare program.

-snip-

"Many are being charged unaffordable co-payments for prescription drugs - co-pays much higher than they are supposed to be. Too many of them are leaving pharmacies without their prescriptions."

-snip-

more...

[ixion]

1. more BushCo in action

everything, and I mean everything, they touch turns to garbage.

[cap]

2. 06 is an election year...

hopefully the dems can make hay out of this.

[RC]

8. Sure, just like they have made hay out of all the bu$h screw ups in

every election since 2000. The elections are rigged, fixed. The fix has to be applied between elections and that is now.

[SpiralHawk]

3. BushCo DrugCo Cronies scoring big time !!!

How about some more "special" tax breaks to boost their profits, since they are not keeping up with the Massive Profiteering Record of the BushCo Oil Crony Companies?

I mean, let's be fair...

[DELUSIONAL]

4. how many will die or have health crisis because of this

GOPigs (with Democratic help) -- bushie fiasco??

[rodeodance]

5. glad to see it on the front page.

[rodeodance]

6. the elite does not know the meaning of 'fixed income" pure and simple.

"Many are being charged unaffordable co-payments for prescription drugs - co-pays much higher than they are supposed to be. Too many of them are leaving pharmacies without their prescriptions."

[rodeodance]

7. Tammy Baldwin Dem, WI said that our courtry has this believe that if

we give something to someone free (prescription drugs or what ever)---they will over use the system. It is playing out here.

[newswolf56]

9. Welcome to the Bush Medicare Prescription Drug Lord Benefit:

the intent of which from the very beginning was to make the fat-cats fatter and kill off the poor -- the New Orleans principle applied to health care: yet another methodically genocidal rich-get-richer policy from the most savagely anti-working-class, anti-poor, anti-disabled, anti-elderly administration in U.S. history.

Anyone who believes this is accidental -- who believes it is NOT genocide -- has either been deprived of the facts or is in psychotic denial.

[dflprincess]

10. The Minneapolis paper had a similar article on Friday,

the main problem seems to be with individuals who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid - my mom is one of these people. When I went to pick up a prescription for her on Saturday I braced myself for bad news but, fortunately, all was well with her account. I was speaking to the pharmacist and she told me the last week has just been hell. Not just with mistakes in the Medicaid/Medicare program but seniors coming in and finding out that their new coverage won't pay for a drug they've been taking forever.

The article in the Mpls paper printed phone numbers people should call if they're having trouble. The pharmacist and I decided they should have printed the numbers of every politician who voted for this mess and people should be deluging their offices with complaints.

[struggle4progress]

11. Druggists overwhelmed

New Medicare drug plan 'glitches' leave pharmacists struggling to fill orders
Victoria Colliver, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, January 6, 2006

... Pharmacists say they have been unable to fill prescriptions or have given out drugs without knowing if they will be paid since Medicare's new prescription drug benefit began Jan. 1.

Some customers lacked cards or notification from insurers about their coverage. Computer problems verifying a patient's eligibility, busy help lines and mismatched identification numbers also have hampered the ability of pharmacists to fill orders.

Admissions by Medicare officials that some "glitches" have occurred during the rollout seemed like an understatement to Oakland pharmacist Julian Potashnick.

"This is the biggest glitch that ever happened," said Potashnick, owner of Leo's Pharmacies, who has been in the business for 55 years. He and his staff said they have spent virtually all their time this week trying to sort out problems that were blocking patients from getting their medications ...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/01/06/BUGKCGI3IK1.DTL

[mom cat]

12. Massachusetts passed it's legislation in advance.

Download a copy here:
http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/seslaw05/sl050175.htm
I downloaded a copy and took it with me to the pharmacy. The pharmacy backed down and gave me my meds!

[SoCalDem]

13. The plan is working perfectly..

This was the plan all along:
drug companies already GOT theirs a few years ago,
pension plans have had plenty of time to drop coverage for their retirees,
the "free drugs" from some pharma companies no longer is "necessary" since EVERYONE now "has coverage",
and since the whole thing is SHIT, the states must now step in to save lives..
and Bush will declare the whole thing a grand success:puke:

[Vinca]

14. In New Hampshire people were being turned away when trying

to obtain their INSULIN! Can you imagine? What a totally screwed up "plan." It's going about as well as the aftermath of the Iraqi invasion. Since they insist on keeping the insurance companies in the loop, why not ONE plan with income levels to determine benefits administered by all the blood-sucking insurance companies? Oh yeah, and with the protection that no one with a Medicare card is turned away at the pharmacy even if their name isn't in the computer.

[zann725]

15. I got thu to Medicare...after weeks of trying, and was MIS-DIRECTED

...recommended "via THEIR COMPUTER INFO" to a plan that was one of the MOST EXPENSIVE on the list...NOT the most reasonable, as I requested. The one referred to me had a $250 annual deductible, had higher monthly premium than most, and the cost of drugs was also higher than other plans.

THIS, I was told by the Medicare employee I spoke with...was the "best plan" her computers told me was available to me.

Just a word to the wise to others. I do NOT think this was a clerical error.

Walgreens prints out a more accurate list of "reasonable" and comparative prices of each plan, given individual prescription drug needs.