In Florida, many senior citizens are not signing up for a Medicare D(isaster) Plan and are purchasing their rx’s through Canadian pharmacies, despite increased enforcement of the legislation that makes the importing of rx’s from Canada illegal.
It was also reported earlier, that seniors in other states have also decided that Medicare D(isaster) was not to their liking. An earlier study by the Kaiser foundation discovered that
25 percent of eligible seniors, as many as 7.4 million people, could find that buying drugs on their own would cost less than they’d spend on premiums, copays and other expenses that come with the Medicare plan.
Apparently, many seniors have taken the advice of the Bush adminisitration, which was to compare plans, determine which rx’s are covered, have done a cost-benefit analysis of Medicare D(isaster) plans offered, compared them to the prices that would be paid for purchasing rx’s in Canada, exercised their personal responsibility, and, made the choice NOT to enroll in one.
continued below
Rx costs have actually INCREASED under Medicare D(isaster), as demonstrated by a report prepared for members of Congress. The findings of the report are
a package of 10 popular medications bought in Chicago under Medicare’s drug program cost 65 percent more than a similar package purchased at Canadian drugstores.
And,
if a consumer had bought the 10 drugs on Drugstore.com, the costs would have been 6 percent lower…
That infomation leaves a person to conclude that Medicare D(isaster) does not provide the savings that those who advocated it claim. Despite that, Peter Ashkenaz, of CMS/Medicare still insists that the purchasing of rx’s through Medicare is cheaper, provided that a person uses one of the mail-order plans and is able to take generics, as opposed prescriptions that are written DAW (dispense as written). Ashkenaz further states that
“By enrolling in a Medicare drug plan, beneficiaries not only get good prices, but insurance against catastrophic drug costs…You cannot get the peace of mind of insurance by ordering your drugs from Canada.”
And,
“beneficiaries enrolled in [Part D plans] may pay less for their drugs than those ordering drugs from Canada.”
The use of Canadian stores to fill rx’s is a possible opption for medicines not covered by the plans. Ordering from Canada once the “doughnut hole” (when drug coverage temporarily stops in the plans) is another option. Interestingly, there are doctors who are suggesting to their patients that rx’s be ordered from Canada in order to get a better price.
The last statement by Ashkenaz counters the statement by Henry Waxman that
Medicare officials had lost credibility. “They tell us that prices are amazingly low when seniors can see with their own eyes that that isn’t the case.”
A question: whose peace of mind is Ashkenaz referring to?
also posted at <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/2/27/155810/388#1"<dkos and My Left Wing
This is really going to backfire big time, if the dems play it right w/seniors. Such as, gwb and the admin insulted your intelligence and treated you as if you were illiterate/a child by expecting you to believe whatever their admin handed out re: Medicare D(isaster) when you could clearly see the differances.
Hope the dems sieze on that one!
Many are now getting their scrips from Canada…
They outlawed marijuana and now they’re outlawing scrips.
More and more will die today because they didn’t have access to timely and appropriate health care.
There’s a good chance that by the time that the November elections come around that many seniors will have been deep in the “donut hole” for several months and paying the full inflated prices for their prescriptions. This may produce a ground swell of votes against Republicans across the country that will be greater than even Diebolt machines can negate.
If people aren’t too sick (from skipping rx’s) to vote that is.
True, but if Grandma or Grandpa become ill because they can’t afford their meds and their children & grandchildren have to pitch in money or time to care for them, two more generations will awaken to what Bush’s “compassionate conservatism” really means. That is if they haven’t already gotten the message from the layoff notices, the high bills to heat their homes this winter, etc. Believe me, as much as I despise the Repugs, I don’t want to see any Seniors suffer just so they and their families will vote for progressive candidates, but if it’s happening anyway let’s hope that it at least produces an outpouring of rage at the polls come November.
This whole deal with making it illegal to buy drugs from Canada sure puts a lie to bushco’s incessant free trade crap doesn’t it. This basically saying they’d screw their own grandmother for a few bucks.
As long as insurance and drug companies are running this show the price of drugs will continue to go up since there is no regulation whatsoever built in this stupid plan to reign them in..plus with so few signing up the insurance and drug companies will have to make up their money somehow by having the poorest getting the drugs with small co-pays. Everyone loses here except the insurance and drug companies it seems to me.
This whole deal with making it illegal to buy drugs from Canada sure puts a lie to bushco’s incessant free trade crap doesn’t it.
Glad you thought of that one!!!