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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Suma who wrote (10706)	2/3/2006 9:55:17 AM
From: JohnM	Respond to of 541768

That's precisely what I've seen, Suma. Embroil is a RX for the latter and a friend has paid $ 12.000 a year in a pharmaceutical plan which is now removed. So now for the first $ 2.200 she gets help as she pays 25% of whatever the drug costs. Then, after she has spent that money she has to pay 100 % until she reaches $ 5.200 then 95% the government will pick up. It's called a dough nut hole. The dough nut hole is one of the ways the Reps used to try to get the costs of the drug prescription bill within parameters dictated by their earlier tax give backs to the wealthy. I'm also aware that a good many of the plans don't cover essential long term drugs for folk presently with plans. My medicare gap insurance through my university, which covered drug prescription costs before simply extended itself into covering the gaps in the new plans. But I expect that to erode over time. Too much incentive for the university to cut back on costs and health insurance costs just continue to soar. AND in addition a senior here in Fl. has 42 plans to look through. They have to decide what plan covers MOST of the drugs you use... You pay 25% of whatever the drug costs, however, if you have drugs not covered by the company you pay it out of your own pocket.. Yes, that's precisely the dilemma my brother has dealt with vis a vis our mother. He's definitely not a happy camper. Well in this morning's paper it is reported that the only ones to really benefit by this plan will be the drug companies whose profits will be millions more.. A lot of articles on these plans in the papers here in Florida. That's certain. Best I can tell there are two reasons for this bill, neither of which have anything seriously to do with providing prescription drug coverage for the elderly. The first was, as I said in my post just now to Karen (KLP), to repay campaign contributions to the drug industry and the health insurance industry. And the second was to attempt to take the issue away from the Democrats. So, in essence, the American taxpayer is taking care of the Reps.