In wake of changes, seniors urged to revisit Medicare drug plans
2006-10-04
Source: USA Today
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rss feedThe rollout of Medicare prescription drug plans for 2007 last week was heralded by federal officials as a trifecta of good news: low premiums, more choices and better coverage, particularly in the feared "coverage gap."
Health care analysts and consumer advocates have a slightly different view: The lowest premiums, sought by healthy seniors who join the program to avoid future penalties, will rise exponentially.
Additional choices mean that beneficiaries in all but two states will have to choose from more than 50 plans. And most of the "gap coverage" will be for generic drugs only. Currently, 94% of beneficiaries in the program face a gap from the time they have paid about $750 until they've paid $3,600.
For these and other reasons, millions of seniors and people with disabilities are being urged to re-examine the plan they chose for this year and compare plans again.
"The right plan for someone in 2006 might not be the right plan in 2007," says Tricia Neuman of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health research organization. "The concern is that products are changing, but seniors won't."
Medicare officials unveiled details about the program's second year last week, including the number of plans to be offered, premiums, deductibles and types of coverage. They emphasized that average monthly premiums will stay below $24, far less than the $37 originally projected. At the same time, they said, companies are adding new forms of coverage.
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