Here is a letter from yesterday's Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ)from a senior complaining about the impact of the new Medicare prescription plan on him:
Enbrel is a drug I use to lessen the impact of rheumatoid arthritis. The cost without insurance is $1,000/month. The co-payment under my current insurance plan is $10/month, or $120/year.
Under the new Medicare drug plan taking effect in 2006, my cost will be $35 a month, or $420 a year, plus a $250 deductible; plus 25% of the first $2,250, which equals $562; plus no benefits from $2,250 to $3,600, which will cost me $1,350; plus 5 percent of the balance from $3,600 to $12,000, which will equal $420. Add this up and my total cost is $3,012! I lose big time!
My thoughts were:
1) You pay 1 percent of the cost of the drug? Nice work if you can get it. My plan has a sliding scale - my son has needed medicine recently and I paid $5 - $20 copays depending on the drug, none of which cost $1,000/month without insurance.
2) This new plan is horrendously complicated! Why so many deductibles and percentages?
3) By his own calculations, this guy would pay 25% of the cost of the drug in the end. Not bad, but many seniors (and low-income people in general) would have difficulty paying that. A good case for means-testing, IMO. |
