Medicare Drug Cards A Raw Deal for Seniors

[Guest guest]

This seems to be typical for what passes today as consumer/citizen laws. It

usually winds up to be the opposite of what the stated intent is. Laws to

" protect " the foods are designed to help special interests get away with more.

Laws designed to " protect " the enviornment are designed to really help special

interests to evade responsibility and to garner profit at public expense and the

same goes for laws designed to " protect " public health. Almost all are really

designed to give special interests more in one way or another.

 

Nothing will change and will only get worse until everyone has had enough and

demands a house cleaning and a thorough overhaul to throw out all of the people

who represent special interests instead of their constituants.

 

Frank

 

 

" luckypig "

Tue, 4 May 2004 19:50:25 -0400

Medicare Drug Cards A Raw Deal for Seniors

 

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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. -->

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

 

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