Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry Message Board

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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry

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To: CalculatedRisk who wrote (32800)	6/30/2004 5:48:18 PM
From: Skywatcher	Read Replies (1) of 81568

Surprise! Drug costs up after Medicare discounts started Fleecing the elderly, all taxpayers: Prices for medicines most used by older Americans rose steadily after the Bush administration enacted the new Medicare law late last year, the nation's largest group representing the elderly said Wednesday. AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, said brand-name drug prices have climbed 3.4 percent -- or three times the rate of inflation -- since December. The jump was one of the sharpest quarterly spikes since 2000, the report said. The findings follow another AARP report this year that showed prices for drugs used most by the elderly grew 6.9 percent in 2003. But the increase since President Bush signed the Medicare bill into law was even sharper, the AARP said Wednesday... At a campaign event earlier this month, Bush said prescription drug cards mandated by the new Medicare law will save the elderly at least 15 to 30 percent. His expected Democratic rival, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, has blasted the privately run drug card program, turning prescription and other health care costs into a major election issue. The cards are a temporary fix until the full Medicare prescription benefit starts in 2006. The law also prevents the U.S. government from directly negotiating drug prices. Similar price rises were seen "after other political actions that were intended to extend drug coverage or provide drug discounts," including when Congress initially passed the Medicare bill earlier in 2003, AARP said.

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