Do people like the new Medicare drug program?
Show #344 Airing Sunday, 6/4/06
Show #344 Airing Sunday, 6/4/06
You've heard a lot about Medicare Part D. Government representatives have told us how much money we'll save. And critics say the benefits are minimal and the program is just a waste of money.
So who's right? Is Medicare Part D a D-saster or a D-light? Of those who have been using Part D for the last six months, some rave, others rant. Some hate it, some appreciate it. The Medicare Rights Center New York and Washington, D.C. has been collecting comments from Part D participants, and you might like to hear, first hand, what your fellow Americans from across the country are saying.
Let's start with a very happy participant from Woodruff, South Carolina. She
exclaimed:
"My three medications were over $2,800 last year, and now I will pay less than $1,000 a year using a mail order service. Needless to say, this is too good to be true!"A nursing home administrator in New York, who has been helping her residents with Part D, also spoke highly of the program.
"Our costs have dropped dramatically, as Medicare is now paying most of the drug costs our nursing home (and residents) previously had to bear."But the vast majority of folks commenting to the Medicare Rights Center were very unhappy. Now, in fairness, this is not a scientific sampling, and angry folks tend to comment more than people who are satisfied. Still, I think it's instructive to hear a few typical complaints. One Californian lamented:
"I signed up for one of the highest cost plans with a $50.94 per month premium...(yet) three of my drugs are not even on the covered list... I have to not take at least two medications a month because I can't afford them..."Another said:
"Prior to Part D, I had prescription drug coverage for Enbrel, a very expensive medication, with no co-payment. Now with Part D, I have a co-payment that I cannot afford. I am no longer able to take the one medication that alleviates the psoriasis that has plagued me for about 50 years."A person in Fayetteville, North Carolina, discovered that the insurance companies can and will change their menu of offerings at any time:
"For the past three months, my Part D plan has covered my prescription for Lipitor. In April, my refill was denied because Lipitor had been put into a category which requires that I try other therapies first. When I called customer service, the representative refused to tell me what these other therapies are."Folks in HMO's have not escaped problems either. An individual in Florida wrote:
"I belong to a Medicare HMO. Last year, I spent only $120 in co-payments for five drugs. This year, with Medicare Part D incorporated into the same HMO plan, I will be spending $720 for the same drugs. Is this what they call 'helping seniors to save money'?"Medicare Part D is only six months old. Will it be D-lightful or D-sastrous? Time will tell. Time will tell.
