Finally, it has actually been admitted that there are serious problems w/Medicare D.
Such as:
Since the Bush administration’s prescription medicine program began on Jan. 1, tens of thousands of elderly people have been unable to get medicines promised by the government. Some 20 states have had to jump in to help them.
Some of the specifics were detailed here:
most of these insurance companies aren’t notifying the people that they’re servicing..
and
a lot of people who qualify for extra help were put in as regular enrollees. Which means they’re in for a lovely little $250.00 deductable. Plus they’re NOT going to be paying their 1-3 dollar Copays. They’re looking at fifty plus bucks a script.
and
national chain drugstores are now denying eligible people their drugs.
continued below
And here are responses by a few of the Democrats:
Senator Edward Kennedy referred to Medicare D as
“systemwide failure” that…”puts the health of our frailest citizens at great risk.”
Senator Hillary Clinton compared this to the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina, calling Medicare D a
“man-made disaster”.
Fourteen Democratic governors signed a letter to George W. Bush, which stated that
“The time for all levels of government to act is now.”
There is concern about the consequences of Medicare D, as senior citizens do vote regularly and may take their frustration w/Medicare D out on those who supported it. (Awwww!) Annother concern is the fact that many senior citizens are getting help understanding the plan from their baby-boomer children, who also vote!
Perhaps it was summed up best by Paul C. Light, a professor of public service at NYU,
“It’s a very complicated program. I’d like to ask the president to explain it himself…If the president and the Cabinet had to enroll, I think they might soon find out that this is a very tangled web of promises that are difficult to unravel.”
That is, if he, if fact could explain it. Hell, it wouldn’t suprise me if I knew more about the intricacies of how the damn thing actually worked than those idiots who voted for it!
When I was attempting to find out exactly wtf was going on w/this program, I got so many different answers from so many people who were supposed to “know” or “advise” people about what was supposedly best…
No one knew exactly what was what…I was basically in “raise-hell-and-hope-for-the-best” mode.
What a nightmare!
too many adversely affected seniors taking it out on them at the ballot box.
Diebold or just plain dying will take care of that problem.
I guess that’s one way to solve the social security “prolem”.
(problem)
Their Medicare costs are WAY down.
Spreading to other states now???
Yeah, one way to balance the budget!
Damn! So that was the whole idea re: this crap!
Haven’t seen the details but heard that the State of CA is stepping in to cover the shortfalls from Medicare for our seniors. As the news reader put it – ‘this is literally a matter of life and death’.
It will be interesting when we see how much our state is going to get screwed by the Feds on this deal.
[/partial snark
Hmmmm….we are known for suing the Feds / FERC / etc….maybe we can sue Medicare and get our money back
at pennies on the dollar…yeah right
[/end snark
At my class last night, the retail pharmacists in the group mentioned that Medicare D is a mess, but that the state (they’re in NJ) is picking up the tab until things get straightened out. It obviously didn’t occur to them that the state is going to lose out on the deal; they just knew they were getting paid.
‘this is literally a matter of life and death’.
You got that right!
Really wish to hell that all the congresscritters who supported Medicare D would handle figuring out all of the regulations, but, nooooooooo, they have gold-plated BCBS!
If they had to go thru all the bullshit I had to re: rx’s, that plan would be repealed so FAST…
Detroit Free Press
No one even asks: What about next month?
Yes, that’s what I’m wondering also…this clusterfuck isn’t going to go away in a few weeks. And remember these plans are only good for a year, every year you have to reup with whatever plan you have or try a new one..at least that’s my understanding?
This whole thing about so many states called for emergency funding and as Arnie says he knows the feds will pay us back..yeah dream on.. I think I mentioned before also that the states all have to ‘pay back’ to the federal governmet all the money they supposedly are saving by having so many people go off the state Medicaid drug programs and onto this new Medicare plan. Some formula in that drug bill showing how states are supposed to figure out how much to pay to D.C. for all the money we’re saving..so how will that help the states anyway..and why did the feds want that money back? I’d really like to know what other surprises like that are in that Medicare drug bill.
Don’t know if you caught my newer diary (link downthread) but my congresscritter is none other than Mike Rogers, R-MI.
Plan on raising hell w/his office, the papers, the whole 9 yards…Hell, in addition to being a traumatic brain injury survivor, I also have epilepsy. Know what happens if anti-convulsants are suddenly withdrawm? A condition called status eppilepticus, which, loosely defined is non-stop seizures that can result in death. First question that I am asking: “Is it my patriotic duty to drop dead in order to balance the federal and state budget(s)?”
These assholes who voted for this thing have got to realize, this ain’t a game here, people could die as a result of this crap!
(Still sleeping most of the day, taking it easy while I recuperate…Check what’s going on here now and then.)
TPM reader J had some interesting things to say yesterday.
It’s worthwhile reading the whole post. This should be a huge issue in 2006.
Am checking it out now! Thanks!!
Found 1st article linked to by accident! Felt it extremely important to diary.
here
link to newspaper article blaming MI repubs, Mike Rogers, R-I named specifically