I work for a non-profit that among other things provides healthcare and health education and case management. Over the past few weeks, we have noticed several clients that have actually been harmed by the new Medicare prescription drug coverage. Most of these clients were on Medicare and disability for various types of chronic long-term conditions but a few were elderly who had some form of private prescription drug coverage though a private supplemental policy.
Our clients are getting letters from their private insurance companies stating that these companies will no longer be paying for prescription drugs since they now have Medicare prescription drug coverage. This then forces them into one of the (many and confusing) Medicare prescription drug plans administered often by the same private companies that had been covering their drugs.
With the infamous gap in coverage (wherein the client pays once drug costs reach a certain level), our clients often end up with even more out of pocket expense for their drugs under Medicare, than they had under their private plans.
What a cool, neat trick for the insurance companies and the drug industry. By forcing these folks off of their private plans and into Medicare plans administered by these same private companies:
* The private companies get to offer fewer benefits for often-similar administrative premiums as under the old private policies and then get reimbursed by the federal government for the benefits they do provide.
* The drug industry gets often better rates than what they were getting under the private policies because of the provision barring the government from negotiating drug prices.
* People who were getting their drugs paid for by private companies are being forced into Medicare where the taxpayer pays for them.
Gee, it's as if the drug and insurance industries wrote the Medicare drug bill or something. Let's see: could this mean the tax payer is worse off, the Medicare recipients are worse off and the drug and insurance industries are making out like bandits?
I am wondering how widespread this problem is, so please share your stories.