Tens of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries who signed up for prescription drug coverage are paying monthly premiums, but Medicare is not paying any of their drug costs because they have reached a gap in their coverage.
The gap, the notorious “doughnut hole,” is upsetting many beneficiaries, and it has become a potent symbol as politicians debate the merits of the new program.
Federal officials and outside experts say that 3 million to 3.5 million people may fall into the gap this year.
While lawmakers and lobbyists were well aware of the problem, it is attracting fresh attention because many beneficiaries are just now discovering it.
Susan Levine at the WaPo writes: "The calls are starting to come in from shocked or angry seniors. They have just learned that their Medicare drug plans are maxing out on early coverage and that they must now spend $2,850 from their own pockets before coverage will resume.
"I can't pay for my medications," one man told Howard Houghton of the Fairfax Area Agency on Aging the other day. "What do I do?"
What indeed!
If there is one thing Insider knows about old people it's that they hate the feeling that they have been taken for ride.
Old people dont just get mad - they get even! Big Pharma had better prepare for a backlash following their recent, Medicare fueled, windfall!
More: NY Times
4 comments:
But let's not forget the other side of the story.
They were warned. Those people that chose plans with donut holes made their beds, and now they're lying in them. They need to take their whining and stuff it up their collective asses.
"Old people dont just get mad - they get even! Big Pharma had better prepare for a backlash following their recent, Medicare fueled, windfall!"
Get even how? 58% think it's a "major benefit". From your same WaPo:
"The Kaiser survey found that more than 80 percent of people in Medicare drug plans were satisfied with their particular plan. McFadden's survey found that 58 percent of respondents thought the new coverage was a "major benefit."
FUD makes for fun and exciting headlines. But FUD, by its very definition, is bullshit. :)
Seniors falling into the Medicare doughtnut hole may be forced to depend on imports from Canada again!
This again raises the scare of "terrorism" promulgated by PhRMA and its allies in the blogosphere and US Senate.
For more on this, see the further Adventures of PhRMA Intern! in my recent post to Pharma Marketing Blog.
Dont mention Karasik!
The Medicare drug plan was created to help senior citizens who previously had no drug plan. The $2600 dollars of drugs that they got for a small fee this year should put them ahead of the game.
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