BS: Medicare Drug Plan (40 Ways?)

Subject: BS: Medicare Drug Plan (40 Ways?)
From: robomatic
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 06:04 AM

I'm reading about what seems to be a good idea implemented poorly, that is the new Medicare Drug Plan, which involves those eligible putting together a list of the drugs they need, then finding a plan under Medicare which commits them to a monthly fee.

1) Is it easy to utilize for those who most need it?
2) If one's needs change, do the plans accomodate?

What I am hearing about it would indicate that there are 40 plans, that figuring out which plan is best is difficult even for those not elderly and infirm, and it is not always clear which plan saves the most money.

Anyone with more information?

Subject: RE: BS: Medicare Drug Plan (40 Ways?)
From: robomatic
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 08:45 AM

"I have a Ph.D., and it's too complicated to suit me"

Subject: RE: BS: Medicare Drug Plan (40 Ways?)
From: wysiwyg
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 09:33 AM

Isn't there an "ASK KAREN" for the new plan? It's working so well for the USDA.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Medicare Drug Plan (40 Ways?)
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 08:21 PM

It's obvious that the concensus is correct: this plan is too complex for those who need it to figure out what to do.

There are, however, uncountable numbers of "participating plans" concocted by "insurers" who see tremendous profit in the programs. Solicitations from them are invariably disguised to look like "official" government messages, occasionally but not usually with some fine print buried somewhere stating "XXX has no connection with any government ...." And many of them apparently do NOT CONFORM to the "officially sanctioned" plans.

The plentiful examples of how much people will save, so far as I have seen, are unrealistic, and in one case that I've seen appeared to add "savings," for the same person, for two drugs that - if taken together - could be fatal.

Nobody mentions that if someone chooses the wrong plan (for them), it could be significantly more expensive than doing nothing at all. I've seen absolutely NO ESTIMATES of how much more the wrong plan could cost.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Medicare Drug Plan (40 Ways?)
From: Peace
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 08:24 PM

If there is a buck to be made with it, that buck will NOT go to the user of the drug(s). Count on that.

Subject: RE: BS: Medicare Drug Plan (40 Ways?)
From: Bobert
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 09:16 PM

This screwed-up-royally plan is what you get when you let lobbiest write the legislation... It was written by insurance companuies and drug companies and handed to the Republican Congress and orderdd to pass it!!!

Hey, it's got big price tag but guess what??? It ain't gonna help seniors... No, what this is a pea-under-the-shwell gaqme which diverts middle claass tax dollars into big bucks fir tow of Bush's big campaign donors: the insurance industry and the pharmacudical companies...

Many seniors will be worse off...

Case in point.... I gotta an old farmer friend, Mr Clifford, who's monthly perscription costs will go from $15 a month to $64 a month????

How can this be???

Same story, different policy... Seems that every bit of legislation that Bush and his Congressional buds has been written by lobbiests...

Like who elected lobbiest to run our country...

Hide yer wallets when it comes to this thouroughly screwed up, now-yer-covered-now-you-ain't, rip-off program...

My advice to everyone here: stay the heck healthy...

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: Medicare Drug Plan (40 Ways?)
From: Janie
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 10:02 PM

What a train wreck.

As many of you know, I'm a social worker at a public mental health center. I work with a number of low-income people on Social Security Disability or retirement benefits, and am trying to help them navigate their Part D options. It is a nightmare. And when people have both serious physical and mental health problems, it is very difficult to find a plan that covers all of their medicines. These are not people who can pay out of pocket. The total monthly cost of medicines for some severe and persistently mentally ill individuals is right around $1000 a month.

More and more I see people leading "lives of quiet desparation" because of the continuing desintegration of the social safety net. This is just another piece of it unravelling.

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: Medicare Drug Plan (40 Ways?)
From: Bill D
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 11:03 PM

I take only several drugs so far, and they are not especially expensive, so I think I will not tempt fate by changing... until they remove the buzzards circling over the bait...

Subject: RE: BS: Medicare Drug Plan (40 Ways?)
From: Ron Davies
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 03:19 PM

There must be-- 40 ways to confuse your seniors.

Subject: RE: BS: Medicare Drug Plan (40 Ways?)
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 03:47 PM

One of the actually useful bits of information that's come from a couple of apparently trustable sources (not from the government) relates to the implied demand that you must sign up now.

Penalties (higher rates) if you wait until after the "deadline" for this initial signup are rather drastic.

Penalties do not apply if you are already covered by an acceptable prescription insurance plan, as long as you keep your coverage under that, or another, qualified plan until you have some reason to sign up for one of the new deals.

If you have any existing coverage for medicines you should first check with your present insurer to verify that it is a "qualifying plan." If it is, most "disinterested" advisors are suggesting that you are probably better off with your present insurance until you have a reason to change.

There may be circumstances where you'd benefit from a change from a qualifying insurance to one of the new ones now, but in most cases existing plans will at least allow greater flexibility if your doc changes your medications.

There appears to be some flexibility in changing from one of the new plans to a different one of them, without the rate penalty, if your prescription needs change; so if you don't have qualified coverage now it probably is advisable that you sign up for "something cheap" just to keep the higher rates from being applied when you figure out what you need. This is a pretty fuzzy conclusion with present information though.

John