Kennedy Fails to Prolong Senate Medicare Bill Debate

Bloomberg.com ^ | November 24, 2003 | Bloomberg

[Peach]

This linked article seems to have its act together, and I still don't like the bill and neither do the seniors who understand it.

http://www.timesstar.com/Stories/0,1413,125~1549~1786421,00.html

[Peach]

This is the linked article in its entirely:




Article Last Updated: Sunday, November 23, 2003 - 7:25:08 AM PST

Not much of a benefit
THE latest version of the Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act of 2003 was announced last weekend in Washington by the Medicare conference committee.

Supporters from organizations such as AARP see it as a compromise that would provide coverage to people with low incomes and relief to those with high drug costs.

However, a poll last week by Hart Research showed that 65 percent of AARP members want Congress to go back to the drawing board. Many members of Congress already have canceled their membership in AARP, and some grassroots organizations such as Moveon.org advocate mass membership cancellations.

Opponents, such as the Alliance for Retired Americans, are mobilizing their members to take action. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, called the overhaul "a cruel hoax that dismantles Medicare and does not provide seniors an affordable, defined, guaranteed Medicare prescription benefit."

This proposed largest overhaul in Medicare's history would have a huge impact on current beneficiaries and baby boomers for years to come. The administration is aiming for quick passage. Advocacy organizations have asked Congress to give consumers adequate time to study the roughly 1,000-page proposal.

According to a Consumers Union analysis, the proposal "not only falls embarrassingly short of giving seniors a real drug benefit, it likely will threaten Medicare's viability." The analysis finds:

The funds set aside for the drug benefit cover only 22 percent of expected costs, leaving consumers to pay the rest of the bill.

The plan takes a big step toward unregulated privatization by requiring competition between private health plans and Medicare while subsidizing the private health plans and allowing them to select the healthiest beneficiaries.

Private benefit managers determine which drugs are included in private plans. These decisions will have no transparency, methodology or public accountability.

The plan, which would not take effect until 2006, actually prohibits the government from negotiating deep prescription drug discounts for consumers. If drug costs continue their historical rates of increase, the average Medicare recipient paying $2,318 in 2003 without coverage will pay $2,911 out-of-pocket in 2007 with coverage. To calculate your drug costs under the plan, visit the Kaiser Family Foundation Web site at www.kaisernetwork.org/static/kncalc.cfm

Information provided by Rep. Pete Stark's office warns his East Bay constituents that:

The bill, if passed, will leave 2 to 3 million retirees without employer-provided prescription drug coverage; will leave up to 6 million of the poorest Medicare beneficiaries with less drug coverage than they have now; and will saddle millions of seniors with rising Medicare premiums if they refuse to join an HMO.

A cost containment provision would create a so-called "crisis" when an arbitrary cap on general revenue funding is reached, which would be used to advance radical cuts to the program, including benefit cuts.

Drug importation would be permitted only from Canada, and only if the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary certifies that no safety risk exists.

Hopefully, Congress has not taken a vote before publication of this column and before you have had an opportunity to make your opinion known to legislators.

Visit the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' Web site at www.cbpp.org; call your local Congressional office; contact AARP, www.aarp.org or (800) 424-3410; or the Alliance for Retired Americans, www.retiredamericans.org, (888) 373-6497.

Sandra J. Cohen, R.N., and Roger Cormier are consultants who help East Bay families plan and coordinate care of an older relative at home or in a care facility. Reach them at (510) 652-3377 or (925) 945-8855 or e-mail go@eldercaremanagers.com or visit www.ElderCareManagers.com

[Peach]

From paragraph 10 of the linked article, Kaiser provides a web site to calculate individual costs. Sounds like they've crunched the numbers and they ARE NOT favorable to retirees:

The plan, which would not take effect until 2006, actually prohibits the government from negotiating deep prescription drug discounts for consumers. If drug costs continue their historical rates of increase, the average Medicare recipient paying $2,318 in 2003 without coverage will pay $2,911 out-of-pocket in 2007 with coverage. To calculate your drug costs under the plan, visit the Kaiser Family Foundation Web site at www.kaisernetwork.org/static/kncalc.cfm

[m1-lightning]

I'm not reading from articles. I'm reading strictly from the bill itself. (336 printed pages)

[Peach]

The bill does not contain the same kind of cost analysis done by Kaiser and as contained in paragraph 10 of my linked and fully printed article above.

And if you can read those bills and make sense of them in this short a timeframe, you need to be working in Congress yourself to help our Senators because half of them can't figure it out.

[m1-lightning]

And if you can read those bills and make sense of them in this short a timeframe, you need to be working in Congress yourself to help our Senators because half of them can't figure it out.

lol, I've noticed that. The Dems were trying to convince everyone that this program was mandatory and Republicans to believe that they didn't even read the bill. Also in the bill are provisions to increase penalties for fraudulant claims, abusive practices, etc. There's a lot to read. I've read some other forseeable costs of this program. It doesn't look good, but with a Republican majority, Congress can make changes to this at anytime.

[Peach]

There will have to be a lot of tweaking to make it work.

Glad you can read it and understand it. It's beyond me.

[m1-lightning]

One thing I don't like about it, is that it doesn't limit the drugs to necessary-for-life drugs and define each. In other words, one can get viagra under this program courtesy of you and me. Here's one thing I bet many don't know: Medicare and medicaid(in most states) currently covers prescription drugs for anyone who is in the hospital. My wife works for a non-profit hospital and understands that the people, who are going to die, because they need medication, will check in to the hospital and recieve free drugs via the hospital.

The hopital is reimbursed by the state so it comes out of our pockets in the long run anyway. The hospital is overcrowded as it is. By having this new drug plan, it will hopefully keep people out of the hospitals for those purposes. But like I said above, Congress needs to differentiate between which drugs are necessary for life and which are not. I have also not found a provision for differences in cost of living areas. $35/month is rather cheap using social security benefits for one in a rural area compared to those in urban areas.

The only reason I support this bill is because there are truly people out there that need help. But it needs to be stricter and Congress needs to pass the work on to a university or a conservative think tank to grind out the bumps and fill in the holes. Hopefully Bush knows what he's doing and that Congress will make the necessary changes prior to 2006.

[Peach]

Excellent points.

[NRA2BFree]

What conservatives? Apparently, whatever name they wear does not matter. They are all on the same page of bigger government, more taxes, like the internet, etc.

Yes, I know. I'm "hoping" some real Conservatives will run against them. I'm definitely not talking about any of the ones who have proved they are not for the good of Americans. None of them will ever get my vote again!!

[Jorge]

None of them will ever get my vote again!!

I'm sure the Dems will be delighted to hear this.

[NRA2BFree]

I'm sure the Dems will be delighted to hear this.

They shouldn't be too delighted. I'm not voting for them either. LOL!