By the TSCL Legislative Staff
The red tape involved in the new Medicare drug program could choke the average senior. It's hard to imagine how Congress could have designed a more complicated program for such a meager benefit. Even Leslie V. Norwalk, Deputy Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has admitted that her uncle asked for an explanation. Her uncle holds a doctorate degree.

Some seniors could wind up spending even more than they do now. According to new projections from the Kaiser Family Foundation, about one senior out of every four will actually be worse off after paying the monthly premium, deductibles and coinsurance than they are now without the coverage. In particular, some seniors who are currently saving thousands of dollars by purchasing their prescription drugs through Canadian pharmacies are learning that the new Medicare drug program will cost a whole lot more!

Take Fay, for example. The Des Moines Resister reported that Fay orders her prescription drugs from a Canadian pharmacy. The cost last year: $1,000. Those same drugs in the United States would cost $3,500. Fay isn't eligible for any of the additional federal low-income benefits. If she signs up for a new Medicare drug plan, she'll spend $2,420 including monthly premiums, deductible and co-pays. For Fay, and hundreds of thousands of other U. S. prescription drug consumers, Canadian and European drugs are a much better deal.

Increased discontent about the high drug costs and higher-than-expected costs under the new Medicare drug legislation is building momentum for the passage of "Pharmaceutical Market Access" legislation. This legislation is widely endorsed by Members of Congress of both parties and would allow seniors, as well as all U.S. drug consumers, to save money on legally imported prescription drugs. The bills mandate the use of counterfeit resistant technology to ensure safety.

This is the next step in making more reasonably priced medicines a reality. We can cut our drug costs with no confusing drug program to figure out, and no pushy insurance sales calls. Let's tell Congress, "If the drugs are safe enough for Canada and Europe, we think they're safe enough for us! Please support the Pharmaceutical Market Access bills, H.R. 328 (House), and S. 324 or S. 109 (Senate)."

"Medicare Drug Program Needs a Hard Sell," Daniel B. Moskowitz, Drug Benefit Trends, Medscape, September 10, 2005. "Drug Plan Stumps Even Top Official, " The Des Moines Register, August 29, 2005.

November 2005