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Medicare Drug Program News
Senior Citizens Should Check Which Medicare Drug
Plans Hike Prices After You Enroll
Seniors can’t rely on drug prices companies list at
beginning of year: Consumers Union wants changes
 Oct. 2, 2007 – With Medicare’s open enrollment
period opening on Nov. 15, senior citizens reconsidering their Medicare
drug program choice should consider which companies tend to raise the
prices on drugs after you enroll. Consumers Union’s latest sampling of
Medicare prescription drug plans for 2007 again finds that most insurers
hike the cost of their drugs during the year – in one extreme case by 28
percent.
The data calls for major changes in the law to
protect seniors against bait and switch-type practices as the open
enrollment season approaches, according to the publisher of Consumer
Reports.
“It makes no sense to ask a senior to carefully
shop around in October and sign up for a drug plan, when the plan just
turns around a few months later and dramatically hikes the cost of the
medicines,” said Bill Vaughan, senior health policy analyst for
Consumers Union.
The latest period tracked – from February to
September 2007 – found that 95 percent of the plans offered in the
sampled areas raised their drug costs. A quarter of the plans raised
prices by 5 percent or more, with a $140 average state increase during
the seven-month period. Only 15 of the 289 plans in the sampled areas
lowered their prices.
“Medicare expects seniors to lock into a drug plan
for 12 months, but it doesn’t require the drug plan to lock in their
prices for that same time. How is that logical?” Vaughan added.
“Consumers should try to get a lower-cost plan that has decent quality
indicators. Unfortunately, the plans can change their prices and wipe
out those careful calculations in a second.”
For example, in the New York area, the Rx 1 drug
plan dropped from being the third-lowest cost plan sampled in February
2007, to the 14th lowest-cost in September. In Texas, Blue Medicare Rx
Standard went from the lowest-cost plan in February, to the
eighth-lowest cost in September.
Since December 2005, Consumers Union has used the
Medicare.gov Web site to track Medicare Part D plan costs for five
widely used drugs offered by companies in five zip codes in New York,
Florida, Texas, Illinois and California. The tracking has found that
most drug plans consistently hike costs during the year seniors are
locked into a plan.
The plan with the biggest increase during the
latest period was Blue Medicare Rx-Standard in Illinois, which increased
its costs for the five drugs by 28 percent, or $679.
“Folks on Medicare shouldn’t have to worry about
the costs in their drug plans rising $600 or more after they sign up,”
Vaughan said. “The instability in drug costs under these Part D plans is
simply unacceptable. Each time costs go up under these plans, seniors
are pushed that much closer to the brink of the doughnut-hole coverage
gap.”
Vaughan noted that one of the sample brand drugs,
Zoloft, now has a generic competitor. Consumers Union strongly
encourages the substitute of generics for brands, and supports companies
offering lower co-pays on generics than brands.
“Consumers should be
offered incentives to encourage them to move from brands to generics,”
said Vaughan.
Vaughan also said the cost increases in Part D
plans underscore the need for Congress to require drug price negotiation
to get the best deal for seniors, as well as offer a consistently
priced, Medicare-administered drug plan in addition to the private
plans.
“Seniors and taxpayers deserve a Medicare drug
insurance plan that has the best possible prices, and is consistent
throughout the year,” Vaughan said.
Consumers Union is urging CMS to warn consumers
that some plans increase prices significantly during the year, and said
the agency should make public the names of plans that frequently change
the cost of commonly used drugs by significant amounts.
CU also has asked Medicare to allow beneficiaries
who select a plan based on the Web site information, and have proof of
that listing, be allowed to change plans anytime during the following
year when the plan has increased drug costs by more than 5 percent.
Cost Rollercoaster in Medicare Part D Plans:
Tracking sample finds continual cost increases
in Medicare prescription drug plans
The following table outlines Consumers Union’s
findings from the Medicare.gov Web site from February 2007 to September
2007 for zip codes in California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Texas.
The five drugs are monthly dosages (30 days) of
Altace 10 mg (for high blood pressure); Celebrex 200 mg (for
arthritis pain, etc.); Lipitor 10 mg (for cholesterol control);
Nifedipine ER (a generic drug to treat angina and high blood
pressure) 20 mg; and Zoloft 100 mg (for depression, etc.).
Averages: Number of Plans and Drug Costs in Five
States Tracked
|
State |
# of Plans |
# Raised Prices |
Avg. Price Increase |
# Lowered Prices |
# Raising Prices More than 5% |
|
CA |
55 |
51 |
$128 |
4 |
13 |
|
FL |
57 |
55 |
$123 |
2 |
14 |
|
IL |
56 |
53 |
$149 |
3 |
14 |
|
NY |
61 |
58 |
$140 |
3 |
16 |
|
TX |
60 |
56 |
$158 |
4 |
15 |
Largest Price
Increase per State
|
State |
Largest Price Increase |
Plan |
|
CA |
$225 |
Blue Shield Medicare Plan |
|
FL |
$227 |
Sterling Rx Plus |
|
IL |
$679 |
Blue Medicare Rx Standard |
|
NY |
$505 |
Rx2 |
|
TX |
$676 |
Blue Medicare Rx Standard |
Best/Worst Plans of the Five States
The following findings use the Medicare.gov
website. The “worst” five plans are those that increased estimated
annual costs the most on the five drugs in each of the five state zip
codes between Feb-Sept 2007. The “best” plans are those which were in
the lowest-cost half of all plans that also increased the least in price
between Feb-Sept 2007.
CALIFORNIA
Five Best Plans: Prescription Pathway Bronze
Plan Reg 32, UA Medicare part D Rx Covg-Silver Plan, Health Net Orange
Option 2, Prescription Pathway Gold Plan Reg 32, Health Net Orange
Option 3
Five Worst Plans: Advantage Star Plan,
EnvisionRxPlus Standard, Bravo Rx II, Blue Shield Medicare Rx Enhanced
Plan, Blue Shield Medicare Rx Plan
FLORIDA
Five Best Plans: UA Medicare Part D Rx Covg-Silver
Plan, Prescription Pathway Bronze Plan Reg 11, Sterling Rx, Health Net
Orange Option 2, Health Net Orange Option 3
Five Worst Plans: EnvisionRxPlus Standard,
Advantage Star Plan, Bravo Rx II, HealthSpring Prescription Drug Plan-Reg
11, Silver Script Complete, Sterling Rx Plus
ILLINOIS
Five Best Plans: MedicareRx Rewards Plus,
Prescription Pathway Bronze Plan Reg 17, UA Medicare Part D Rx Covg-Silver
Plan, First Health Premier, MedicareRx Rewards Value, Prescription
Pathway Gold Plan Reg 17
Five Worst Plans: Sterling Rx Plus, Blue
Medicare Rx-Standard, Blue Medicare Rx-Plus, Blue Medicare Rx-Value,
EnvisionRxPlus Standard
NEW YORK
Five Best Plans: HIP Standard Part D New
York, SAMAscript, Humana PDP Enhanced, HIP Enhanced Part D New York,
First UA Medicare Part D Rx Covg-Silver
Five Worst Plans: Rx 1, EnvisionRxPlus
Standard, Rx 2, Sterling Rx Plus, Rx 3
TEXAS
Five Best Plans: Medicare Rx Rewards Plus,
Prescription Pathway Bronze Plan Reg 22, UA Medicare Part D Rx Covg-Silver
Plan, Prescription Pathway Gold Plan Reg 22, Sterling Rx
Five Worst Plans: Blue Medicare Rx-Standard,
EnvisionRxPlus Standard, Blue Medicare Rx-Plus, Sterling Rx Plus, Blue
Medicare Rx-Value
>>
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