“If you are caught in that donut hole you will be disappointed and start pressing your members of Congress to do something about it.”
That bit of advice was given two years ago by Gail Wilensky, PhD, a health analyst with Project HOPE, a former Medicare administrator who also advised President Bush during the 2000 presidential campaign.
Dr. Wilensky was right. And now is the time for all of us in Bucks County, PA to show up on July 29 to tell our congressman that we want to see Part D fixed today.
And it’s not just the Donut Hole we want fixed. PA Action, the sponsor of the event, wants the following sensible fixes made to Part D:
- Require that Medicare negotiate the cheapest possible prices for drugs with the pharmaceutical companies;
- Eliminate the “Donut Hole” that will add crippling costs to many seniors;
- Offer a prescription drug plan to seniors directly through Medicare that does not require they join private plans;
- End the “bait and switch” provisions that allow private insurance plans to drop coverage for specific drugs while seniors are locked into the plan;
- Reopen an enrollment period so that millions of seniors will not be locked out of help for prescription drug costs — and drop the penalty for joining after May 15.
PLEASE RSVP at this link and make the commitment to coming out on the 20th. Remember, we’ll be lobbying Rep. Fitzpatrick for real reform of a confusing and crony-driven Part D as well as celebrating Medicare’s 41st birthday and our democracy.
What: Medicare D-Day on Medicare’s B-Day
When: 9:15am Saturday, JULY 29
Where: Oxford Valley Mall – JC Penney parking lot
Google Map
Why: to lobby Congressman Fitzpatrick to fix Medicare’s Prescription drug benefit
cross-posted, as all these countdown posts are, at dKos, Oped News, MyDD