Paul Krugman on the senior prescription drug benefit (WOW!)

[Bozita]

The entire column is found at the link.

The Deadly Doughnut
By Paul Krugman
The New York Times
Friday 11 November 2005

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/111105K.shtml

-snip-

    Once you recognize that the drug benefit is a purely political exercise that wasn't supposed to serve its ostensible purpose, the absurdities in the program make sense. For example, the bill offers generous coverage to people with low drug costs, who have the least need for help, so lots of people will get small checks in the mail and think they're being treated well.

    Meanwhile, the people who are actually likely to need a lot of help paying their drug expenses were deliberately offered a very poor benefit. According to a report issued along with the final version of the bill, people are prohibited from buying supplemental insurance to cover the doughnut hole to keep beneficiaries from becoming "insensitive to costs" - that is, buying too much medicine because they don't pay the price.

    A more likely motive is that Congressional leaders didn't want a drug bill that really worked for middle-class retirees.

    Can the drug bill be fixed? Yes, but not by current management. It's hard to believe that either the current Congressional leadership or the Mayberry Machiavellis in the White House would do any better on a second pass. We won't have a drug benefit that works until we have politicians who want it to work.

-snip-

more ...

[NoQuarter]

1. Like a balloon payment

that happens every fucking year.

[Tracer]

2. I feel railroaded by this Drug Bill.

I take no prescription medicines, yet think that I must sign up for this program simply to avoid the 1% per month penalty for NOT signing up. And, I'm not sure how long the penalty keeps on penalizing.

Who can tell the future? Perhaps in 10 years I'll need some prescription drugs. Do I pay a monthly fee for 10 years --- and get nothing for it --- just to cover myself?

[Shallah Kali]

3. I just recently found out about the 1% per month penalty for not joining

And I am in your position. I am not on any medications yet they want to bleed us dry by making us pay protection money to ensure we might get some help when we need it later. I know a lady in my state who is getting kicked off a state plan that helps her with her meds and being forced on the medicare plan. It will cost over $300 more per month for her and she is already shorting her self on medications now! This makes me so furious!

[ShockediSay]

4. Good program this/yesterday/Nov17 on NPR

the Diane Rehm Show

http://www.wamu.org/programs/dr/

(can listen to this program online)

What I learned was that this legislation was drafted by the drug and insurance companies, who will be draining our treasury without offering much of anything but red tape, confusion and an extra push toward bankruptcy for most of us.