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I know this is a bit long, but now that it appears a Medicare Drug benefit is a certainty it may be a good idea to educate ourselves on the various alternatives.

The article's hyperlinks do not work (and I don't have time to go through and edit them all). If you'd like to read the entire article please click on the source link at top. Thanks.

Bush and G.O.P. to Push for Medicare Drug Benefit

This is NOT a good thing. Medicare and Medicaid cost TEN TIMES what it was originally proposed to cost. This prescription-drug transfer payment will no different.

In order to get the drug companies on board, there will be arm twisting to encourage price caps (maximum allowable charges) with agreement to accept assignment--just like the current government payers. Any sort of program will result in cost shifting to non-government payers (whether commercial or self-pay).

Prescription drug costs (and health care costs in general) have skyrocketed with commercial insurance co-pays of $10-$20.

As long as people have insurance, few will notice or care about the actual costs. It's very similar to employee withholding taxes, versus writing the income tax check with your own pen.

Moreover, costs to process the prescriptions will increase enormously as pharmacies, drug companies contend with the government regulations. < /rant>


Table 5.
Provisions of Four Prescription Drug Proposals for Medicare

		Clinton Mid-Session Review Plan	Robb Amendment	H.R. 4680	Breaux- Frist II

Benefit Amounts (Dollars)^a
	Deductible	None	250	250	250
	Benefit cap	1,000	None	1,050	1,050
	Stop-loss amount	4,000	4,000	6,000	6,000
Benefit Administrator		SSA	SSA	Plans	SSA
Subsidies for Employment-Based Health Plans		Yes	Yes	No^b	No^b
Number of Plans in Each Region		One	At least two	At least two	At least two
Plans Bear Insurance Risk		No	No	Yes	Yes
Federal Subsidy for All Enrollees^c		50% subsidy of premium costs below stop-loss amount; 100% above	50% subsidy of premium costs	No subsidy of premium costs; graduated reinsurance rate, averaging 35%^d	25% subsidy of premium costs below stop-loss amount; 80% reinsurance above

Source: Congressional Budget Office.
Note: SSA = Social Security Administration. [For a graphical presentation of the structure of the four proposed benefits, click here.]
a. The amounts that would apply in the Medicare drug benefit's first year of operation, which is assumed to be calendar year 2005.

BTTT.