Prometheus 6   

Just a spoonful of sugar

GOP Medicare 'Reform' is a Sham
11/23/2003 06:44 PM EDT

By DEBORAH MATHIS
BlackAmericaWeb.com

…The authors of the new Medicare plan are counting on the same vulnerabilities that help psychics, palm readers, lotteries and real estate investment scam artists get rich. They are counting on public need to nourish private greed.

The linchpin of the bill -- which George W. Bush would claim for bragging rights in the 2004 re-election bid - is the prescription drug component. Currently, Medicare does not help pay for the medications older Americans need to hold their own.

Americans spent $95 billion this year for prescription drugs. Nearly $41 billion of that came from senior citizens, even though they make up only 13 percent of the population.

That's a lot of money plucked from the pockets of people who, typically, are on fixed incomes but who have little choice since, if they don't pay, the crippling pain comes back or the heart clogs or the blood sugar drives them blind or the mind crumbles. Or worse.

For the black elderly, affordable prescription drugs are an especially critical need. A disproportionate number of older black people suffer chronic ailments so their reliance on prescription drugs is greater than the rest of the elderly population.

But the new plan offers little comfort. For example, it would pay 75 percent of the first $2,250, but after that, it would pay nothing until the drug bill reaches $3,600. After that, it covers 95 percent.

That would mean an 81-year-old man I know, who now spends $4,800 a year for eight life-sustaining drugs, would pay out about $2,700 once you add in the $250 deductible and $35-per-month insurance premium.

That sounds pretty good, until you see that he would have to give up the doctor who has treated him for years, knows his case inside and out, understands the nuances of both the patient and his conditions, and holds his trust. Why? Because, in order to get the Medicare benefits, the old man would have to sign up with a government-approved private plan, like an HMO, and go to one of the doctors on its list. Meanwhile, the annual deductible for doctors' visits and outpatient care would increase every year.

Meanwhile, too, the bill does nothing to address the exorbitant and ever-increasing cost of drugs. There are no provisions for price controls. How long do you think it would be before the 81-year-old is back where he started and beyond, only now without the comfort of knowing the doctor he trusts is on the case while being herded into a crammed, impersonal system?