Medicare benefit has many options

Senior citizens need to prepare for a major change in the way prescription drugs will be handled through Medicare starting next year, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris said Thursday during a stop in Spokane.

The new Medicare Plan D is designed to make prescription drugs more accessible and affordable for seniors covered by the nation’s largest health insurance program. But it does open up a wide array of insurance plans that seniors should study carefully before deciding, she said.

“It’s going to help people afford the costs of medicine,” said Joel Loiacono of the Alzheimer’s Association Inland Northwest Chapter, who joined McMorris at a press conference urging seniors to seek more information about the new program. “It’s going to provide assistance to people that don’t have that assistance now.”

Starting Nov. 15, Medicare recipients will be able to sign up for an additional insurance plan that will help pay the costs of their prescription drugs. Those plans can go into effect as early as Jan. 1. Different plans will have different premiums or co-payments. Some may require a patient to use generic drugs whenever available, while others would cover more expensive drug choices.

There could be as many as 50 different drug benefit plans around the country, although all plans won’t be available in all locations.

The new Medicare benefit is not without its critics, which include the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for America’s Future.

“The law is too complex, offers too few benefits and hands hundreds of billions in new profits to drug companies while everyday people pay the price,” said Toby Chaudhuri, a spokesman for the institute.

But Jennifer Mills of the American Heart Association, who joined McMorris and Loiacono at Thursday’s press conference, said the new drug insurance plans will help people who have no coverage and can’t afford their prescriptions.

“We don’t want people to be going without their medicine,” said Mills, adding that the Heart Association strongly supports the new program.

The program is also less complicated than a temporary program for discount cards from different pharmacies, which was set up as a stopgap when the law was passed in 2003, she said.

“This is what we have, and the job right now is to make it as smooth as possible for seniors,” McMorris said. “It’s going to have a positive effect.”

McMorris said she would be holding town hall meetings to help get answers to seniors about the program, and government and private organizations would be supplying information at senior centers and retirement facilities. She also suggested seniors make a list of the prescription drugs they currently take, and any they think they may be needing in the near future, along with what they currently pay.

With that kind of information, people more familiar with the plans can help seniors find their best options.