NYT: Renewed Worries on Medicare Drug Plans

[FreeStateDemocrat]

By ROBERT PEAR
Published: December 5, 2006

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 — Pharmacists and advocates for older Americans say they are worried that tens of thousands of low-income Medicare beneficiaries will again have trouble getting medications next month, as they did in January of this year.
Many prescription drug plans are changing benefits. Beneficiaries are changing from one plan to another. New plans are entering the market. Some beneficiaries will find they can no longer use the drugstores they have been using.

“There will be surprises and shocks for some beneficiaries,” said Michael J. Negrete, vice president of the California Pharmacists Association.
About 600,000 poor people are losing the guarantee of extra assistance that covered nearly all their drug costs this year.

“Starting Jan. 1, 2007, you will no longer automatically qualify for this extra help,” the Bush administration said in letters sent recently to these beneficiaries.

Some may still be able to obtain extra help. But they need to apply to a federal or state agency, and few have done so
Pharmacists and insurance counselors say many of the 600,000 beneficiaries will not discover the change in their status until they show up at pharmacies next month. Then they could be charged $25 to $50 or more for drugs that cost them only $3 or $5 this year.

Druggists say they also foresee problems for another group: 300,000 low-income people who will be reassigned to plans chosen at random by the federal government
Even people who stay in the same plan may face surprises because some of their drugs may no longer be covered. Plans can change the list of covered drugs from one year to the next, dropping some and adding others. (contd)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/05/washington/05medicare.html?ref=health

[acmavm]

1. That money needs to go to better causes, like the coffers of

Halliburton, Carlyle, and KBR.

[hashibabba]

2. It looks like this will affect me next month.

Thanks Herr Busch.

[area51]

3. This is by design.

The republinazi party is the party of death; they seek to kill off as many people as they can.

[Tracer]

4. I take no medications, but ...

... I signed up last June with Humana's cheapest Part D program --- just to avoid the penalty.

I paid for a year's worth of coverage ($84) in advance.

A few days ago, Humana sent me a notice that, starting in January, the cost will be $212.00. That's a 130% increase!

I called them and basically told them to go ***k themselves, and demanded they return the balance of my payments.

I'll be willing to bet that many, many other people are going to be getting a very unpleasant surprise.

[WePurrsevere]

5. My DH & I opted to not sign up for Part D and from what I can see now

it looks like it was the correct decision since we would probably have signed up for one of the plans that had a huge increase that we couldn't have afforded. One of my major concerns was that there would be a "bait and switch" and that sure seems like what has happened. That's a terribly mean thing to do to seniors and the disabled who are barely (if that) getting by on a fixed and often a fairly low income.

Hopefully the Dems will put this issue back on the table and make it work better and cheaper. If you are not on or do not regularly take conventional drugs (as in my DH & I's case) it's simply not worth it right now. We'd rather take the money we'd spend on Part D and put it in a Money Market account where it would earn interest until we need it and then we'll use our county's prescription discount plan... I've heard it's not a bad discount and at least it's free for ALL residents (they even have a discount medical now for those w/o any insurance).

[dysfunctional press]

6. i'm on medicare- permanent total disability due to a spinal condition...

that didn't develop until my mid-30's. i'll be 46 in february. i haven't signed up for a medicare drug plan, because i'm covered under my wife's ppo thru her job. i don't intend too sign up for one, because i think that ultimately a different system will be put in place, and the current system instituted under * will be scrapped altogether.

[Allyoop]

7. Medicare Drug Plan

I'm signing up with AARP's Suplemental plan F and staying out of the Prescription Drug Plan. I don't take any prescription drugs and AARP offers a discount card that's accepted even if you're eligible for Medicare. I don't know just which drug companies accept their discount card - Walgreens does. I too think this plan will be re-worked. I'm "betting" that any prescription drug I may need won't cost more than the "doughnut hole" or my premiums if I decided to join. Also - there's always Wally World's $4 prescription drug list. I don't ever shop at Walmart or SAMs anymore, but that could change for drug needs.