Every day I see how inhumane the current Republican
White House and Congress are. I have been trying to help my patients
understand the supposed Medicare prescription drug benefit that will go into
effect on January 1, 2006. All recipients of Medicare must sign up for a
plan before the end of the year. If they do not sign up by January they
will be charged a higher premium later in the year for each month they have
not signed up. There are dozens of plans available and each plan charges
a different amount for a number of different levels of coverage.
In the capitalist system if you buy a large
amount of something generally you can reduce your per unit cost. The
Veterans Administration negotiates with pharmaceutical companies to get lower
cost medications for veterans. However with this new law, the Congress
caved in to drug company lobbyists so this law specifically states
that the government cannot bargain the price of the covered medications.
This gave the drug companies a huge built in profit. A few million
dollars for lobbyists can lead to a few billion dollars in profits taken
out the pockets of average Americans. When you finally choose a plan you are
committed to that plan for a year. Generally you will look at the lists
of medications that each plan covers and try to choose a plan that covers most
if not all of your medications.
What they don't tell you is that while you are
stuck with a plan for a year, the insurance companies can change the
medications that they cover whenever they want. You can pick a plan to
cover that medication that costs you several hundred dollars a month and the
insurance company can stop covering it. So you are stuck with paying
your premiums with no coverage for a year without any redress. Tell me
again about compassionate conservative.
--
Larry Kerschner POB 397 Pe Ell WA 98572 (H)
360-291-3946 (W) 360-291-3232
Only the man who has fully attained his own spiritual identity can live
without the need to kill. -- Thomas Merton
blog:
www.livejournal.com/~larrywrites/
Larry Kerschner Writes