Another Kick in the teeth by Republicans

Feds announce Part D cost increases for 2007

The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced the
increased costs for the Standard Part D parameters that will take effect in
January 2007.

2007 will see the following changes:

* Deductible will go up from $250 to $265.

* Beginning of coverage gap ("donut hole") will go up from $2,250 to $2,400
in total drug cost.

* End of coverage gap ("donut hole") will go up from $5,100 to $5,451.25.

The amount of money a Medicare recipient will have to spend out of their own
pocket on drugs to get out of the coverage gap and begin receiving the 95%
"catastrophic" coverage will go up from $3,600 to $3,850 for the year.

The law requires CMS to increase the cost of the deductible and the
beginning/ending of the coverage gap each year based on the increase in drug
spending by Medicare beneficiaries in the previous year -- a rate much
higher than the Consumer Price Index. The new rates for 2007 are an
increase of 6.8%. The Consumer Price Index, which measures overall
inflation/price increases (and is used in determining Social Security and
other cost-of-living increases) for the same period will be only 1.81%

A real Medicare drug benefit is needed now!

Less than 4 months into the private Part D drug plan, it's official -- a bad
deal is going to get worse next year and every year after.

Recent studies have shown that compared to the cost of the private Part D
plan, a Medicare run drug benefit with negotiated lower drug prices could
provide 100% of recipients drug costs -- with no premium, deductible,
coverage gap -- and still have a surplus of $40 billion over the first 7
years.

It's time for Congress to fix this private Part D disaster and create a real
drug benefit run by and through Medicare with negotiated lower drug prices.