Medicare Prescription Drug Plan
If you think the Republican Medicare Part D prescription drug plan did you a favor, consider this. In 2006 my total cost of prescriptions was $2,839 of which I paid $696. The allowable Medicare limit for the basic coverage was $4,000. If the total cost of medication, including the portion I paid was in excess of $4,000, I would be forced to pay the full retail for non-generic medications. According to my health plan, these allowable costs and limits are Medicare rules.
Now for 2007, I am estimating that prescription costs will increase by 5% (the increase from 2005 to 2006) for a total amount of $2,981 of which I will pay $731. The kicker is that the Medicare limit has been reduced to $2,500. So, everything above the $2,500 limit (except for some generics) will have to be paid at full retail, not even at the reduced rate that my Medicare Part D drug plan pays.
If the Medicare limit keeps decreasing, it will go to $0 in a short time. In other words, the Medicare Part D drug plan is a scam fostered on American seniors by Congress and the President trying to win an election.
What can we do; encourage Congress to allow purchase of drugs from Canada (the cost can be as low as 50% of American retail), go to a single payer plan where Medicare can negotiate rates as is done by the VA, work with Congress to eliminate the donut hole in the Part D drug plan, stop the practice where a drug company can buy off generic drug manufacturers to keep the generics off the market while they continue to sell their higher priced drugs, and come up with a solution that is more equitable to American seniors.
I think that seniors should pay their fair share of prescription costs, but not be taken advantage of by the drug companies trying to improve their bottom line. Use of generics, and fair pricing for non-generics should be the Medicare drug plan goal. If our government can't do it, then turn the program over to Wal-Mart. They know how to cut costs and keep prices affordable.
