[Health&Healing] Medicare Drug Cards A Raw Deal For Seniors

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Misty L. Trepke

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THE DAILY MIS-LEAD

< http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338755 & l=32635 >

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MEDICARE DRUG CARDS A RAW DEAL FOR SENIORS

 

Mark McClellan, the Administration's top Medicare official, claims

that the new prescription drug cards being offered by the government

will provide " significant price reductions off typical retail

prices " for seniors [1]. But a new study by the House Government

Reform Committee reveals that McClellan's claim is not true - in

fact, many seniors would pay more for drugs using the " discount "

cards (which cost up to $30 a year) than they would paying retail

[2].

 

The study found that a one month supply of the ten best selling name

brand drugs cost more using Medicare drug cards offered by Pharmacy

Care Alliance ($1,061), RxSavings ($1,046) or Walgreens ($990) than

paying retail at Drugstore.com ($959). In Canada the same drugs cost

just $596 - 60% less than the lowest priced drug card - but the

Administration continues to fight the efforts of seniors to obtain

affordable prescription drugs there. [3]

 

Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson said that the

competition among providers will cause " prices to continue to fall. "

[4] But the restrictions the Administration has placed on which

cards seniors can use makes that unlikely. Once seniors select a

card they are locked in until the end of 2004 and can change only

once - in the fall, when enrollment for next year's program begins.

[5] Meanwhile, corporations offering drug cards can change their

prices once a week. Even if the prices for prescription drugs

rise dramatically with the card a senior selects, that senior cannot

switch cards before 2005.

 

Sources:

1. " White House Promoting Medicare Drug Card " , AP, 4/29/04,

http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338755 & l=32636.

2. " New Medicare Drug Cards Offer Few Discounts " , Minority Staff of

the House Committee on Government Reform, April 2004,

http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338755 & l=32637.

3. " FDA, States at Odds Over Drugs " , Washington Post, 2/22/04,

http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338755 & l=32638.

4. " U.S. Offers Seniors Drug Cards Amid Criticism " , Reuters, 5/3/04,

http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338755 & l=32639.

5. " Web Still Helps the Medicine Go Down " , Washington Post, 4/30/04,

http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338755 & l=32640.

 

Visit Misleader.org for more about Bush Administration distortion. --

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< http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338755 & l=32641 >

 

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