Botched Medicare Part D

January 20, 2006

Growing Chorus of Critics Decry Botched Rollout of Part D

Drawing comparisons to the government's tragically inept response to Hurricane Katrina, the Bush administration struggled with persistent problems in Medicare's floundering drug benefit. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt tried to downplay blistering criticism from both Republicans and Democrats, conceding there were "a couple small groups it's not working well for." Those "small groups" include tens of thousands of poor elderly and disabled patients who have been denied their prescription drugs, forcing more than 20 states to spend hundreds of millions to bridge gaps caused by a system-wide breakdown.

While patients, pharmacists, doctors, lawyers and lawmakers scrambled to make sense of the bureaucratic chaos, all President Bush could do was remind insurers that poor patients should not pay more than $5 for their drugs and insurers were obligated to provide a 30-day transitional supply of any drug a patient was taking. The administration's plans to address transition problems for 6.4 million dual eligibles, the poor and elderly who lost their Medicaid drug coverage for Medicare, have largely failed because no one-not Medicare's toll-free helpline staff, insurance companies or pharmacists-knew about them.

To make matters worse, Medicare officials have told states to seek reimbursement from insurance plans for the unexpected millions spent to bail out the federal government's botched rollout. Part D insurers, already heavily subsidized by Medicare to administer the drug benefit, are crying foul claiming that states should not expect full reimbursement because plans do not pay as much as states pay for drugs. A bi-partisan group of Senators plan to introduce legislation that would require Medicare to pay states back and recoup overpayments from Part D providers.
Source: Alliance for Retired Americans

This Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan is an absolute abomination. America should be ashamed. I just cannot believe that President Bush and Congressman Chis Chocola spent taxpayers money to tell us what a wonderful program it was and to top it off, take pride in it, touting that they were taking credit for all they've done for seniors. Brothers and Sisters, the quicker we can dump these two characters the better off we'll all be.
Source: Charlie Averill