BY MIKE CETERA
November 21, 2005, was a historic day for Americans. It was the day senior citizens across the nation began signing up for the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Since that time, more than 27 million senior citizens have received prescription drug coverage, with thousands more enrolling each week.As these seniors are seeing, this new coverage is called a "benefit" with good reason. It provides them with much-needed prescription drug coverage at a cost they can afford. The benefit is clear to those who have saved hundreds of dollars in just the short time they have been enrolled, and who are expected to save an average of $1,300 by the end of the year. -- Dennis Hastert, in a column published March 31, 2006 in The Beacon News.
And now, some comments on the "benefit."
Since December 2005, Consumers Union has used the Medicare.gov Web site to track Medicare Part D plan costs for five widely used drugs offered by companies in five zip codes in New York, Florida, Texas, Illinois and California. The tracking has found that most drug plans consistently hike costs during the year seniors are locked into a plan.The plan with the biggest increase during the latest period was Blue Medicare Rx-Standard in Illinois, which increased its costs for the five drugs by 28 percent, or $679. -- from a Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, study.
The Medicare Part D drug prescription program, which then House Speaker Dennis Hastert championed, might not affect you, but odds are it affects either your parents or grandparents. And, as some critics predicted, it seems to favor the drug companies over the people.
Consumers Union is urging Congress to approve "major changes in the law to protect seniors against bait and switch-type practices..."
Unfortunately the Medicate drug plan mess was by design to help privatization efforts - this was known early and it continues on. Medicare Part D (the drug plan) was designed to benefit drug companies, which is why its ability to negotiate cheaper prices through bulk buying was restricted. It was also designed to provide cover for Republicans who needed to seem to do something about the lack of decent health care and drug coverage in America. "Seem" is a key word in the prior sentence. They really couldn't have designed Medicare's drug plan much worse - although their lack of even implementing the law properly shows they tried.
It is quite shameful that this Medicare drug plan mess has not yet been cleaned up. It was setup, unfortunately, to favor the insurance companies and not to serve the seniors. The insurance company that will finally prevail is the one that will optimize its plans for the members. Alternately Congress could do its job and require a much better level of service.