The new Medicare "Reform
Legislation" just passed by Congress will affect elders in many
unexpected ways. Most of them are detrimental.
Conservative forces
in the Administration, the Congress and private industry have
worked to change the nature of the most successful health program
for seniors and people with disabilities. Under the guise of adding
an (inadequate) prescription drug benefit to Medicare, Congress
has hidden some frightening changes to the program.
Medicare will no longer
be a universal program. Starting in 2007 the Part B premium will
be linked to income for the first time in the history of the Medicare
Program. Because it has been a universal program it has been well
accepted which may not be so when these changes begin.
Congress passed a bill
that will give billions of dollars to the healthcare industry,
while millions of seniors and people with disabilities will lose
employer-sponsored coverage, will be forced into large privatization
grants, and will face large gaps in coverage. According to Senator
Edward M. Kennedy, "The more that senior citizens learn about
what is in the bill the more concerned they are. It's a sweetheart
deal for insurance companies, a bonanza for pharmaceutical firms,
and a travesty for senior citizens."
The Medicare Prescription
Drug bill which Congress passed has "a hole in the middle." After
you pay your $35.00 a month premium and your deductible of $250.00
dollars you will get help with your drug costs till you have spent
$2,250.00. Then, when you might need assistance the most, you
have to continue paying the monthly premium but have no coverage
until you have spent $3600 out of pocket. For someone who
has prescription drug costs of $5000.00 this means they will only
save about 22%. Someone who has a $1000.00 drug bill will
save 14%. This is less than you probably can save by importing
your drugs from Canada, which the Bush Administration would like
to stop you from doing.
Patients will not be
guaranteed their desired medications — only drugs treating
their general ailments. Insurers can opt to drop a drug even after
the patient is locked into a plan, and need only alert seniors
by posting the change on the Internet.
One of the weirdest
points of the bill is that the government is prohibited from negotiating
with the drug industry for lower prices on drugs as other countries
do.
A most worrisome issue
is a trial premium support program beginning in 2010. which will
allow competition between Medicare and private plans. Although,
right now, this is a six year demonstration program, if the Republican
strengthen their control of the White House and President Bush
is reelected it is feared that they will push to make this a permanent
part of Medicare.
Medicare will soon
issue a Prescription Drug Card to be used to supposedly
reduce seniors drug expenses until the new Medicare Drug coverage
goes into affect in January 2006. Because this card is a farce,
I would like to quote from Senator Edward Kennedy's statement
on December 10, 2003 about these cards:
Only in this Administration would the words "discount
card" mean seniors get the card while corporations get the discounts.
In fact, the more senior citizens learn about the Administration's
prescription drug program, the angrier they get — and rightly
so. Buried in today's announcement of the rules for the so-called
prescription drug discount card is the revelation that companies
offering the cards are not required to pass on any discounts
they obtain to beneficiaries. The Bush Administration allows
private companies to use Medicare's name to market the cards.
The Bush Administration allows these companies to use Medicare's
buying power to negotiate discounts from drug manufacturers.
But when it comes to benefits for senior citizens, the Bush
Administration is missing in action. Once again, it has put
corporate profits ahead of patients' needs."
Lastly, the Congressional
Budget Office estimates that 3.8 million retirees, about one-third
of all nonfederal retirees who have health insurance provided
by their former employers, will have their more generous private
coverage reduced or eliminated. Dr. Laurie Young, Executive Director
of OWL, the Voice of Midlife
and Older Women, suggests that "the battle over access to
affordable quality healthcare and Senior's support system has
begun. Medicare was first: Social Security will be next."
Older women have a
lot to loose in this issue. We must continue to fight for
a universal, voluntary, comprehensive, affordable Medicare prescription
drug benefit. As House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi stated, "American
seniors deserve a better bill then this."
Write your congress
persons. Demand something better. We will be heard!
Additional Resources:
PBS
Online News Hour report
Public
Citizen's Medicare Section
NOW
Health Issues
Consumers
Union Medicare analysis
