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Medicare Drug Program News
Medicare Part D Enrollment Season Offers Seniors
Higher Costs, Confusion
Families USA analysis says no ‘Doughnut Hole’
protection available
 Nov. 9, 2007 – A review of Medicare Part D
prescription drug plans for 2008 reveals a startling fact, according to
Families USA. It is now impossible for beneficiaries to purchase
comprehensive protection for the “doughnut hole,” the yawning gap in
Part D coverage where Medicare offers no assistance in paying for
prescription drugs.
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The analysis by Families USA, a national
organization for health care consumers, also says that drug premiums
continue to rise far faster than the cost of living.
The premiums for stand-alone prescription drug
plans will increase by 21 percent for the average beneficiary, but some
of the largest plans will raise premiums by much more. Two examples:
● United HealthCare, associated with AARP and the
biggest provider of Part D plans, is raising premiums for its popular
“Medicare Rx AARP Plan-Saver” by an average of 89 percent.
● Humana, the second largest part D company, is
increasing the premium for its most popular plan, “Humana PDP Standard,”
by 69 percent.
“Over the two years since Medicare Part D began,
premiums for the Humana PDP Standard in the upper Midwest have climbed
by an astounding 1,300 percent!” Ron Pollack, Executive Director of
Families USA, said today.
“This is a terrible failure in the current Medicare
program and a clear sign that prescription drugs costs continue to be
out of control in this nation.”
Medicare beneficiaries are facing an annual choice
of drug plans, an enrollment window that runs from November 15 through
December 31, and Pollack urged enrollees, especially low-income
beneficiaries, to look carefully at their current plans, checking costs
and ensuring that those plans will continue to offer the drugs they
need.
The Families USA analysis, “Buyer Beware: Higher
Costs, More Confusion for the 2008 Part D Enrollment Season,” outlines
pitfalls and problems in some 2008 plans and discusses the deficiencies
in doughnut hole coverage.
The analysis is available online at
www.familiesusa.org.
Editor’s Notes:
Families USA describes itself…
“Families USA is the national organization for
health care consumers. It advocates for high-quality, affordable health
coverage for everyone.”
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