Medicare Part D

Medicare Part D Drug Plan was created by Congress in 2003 to aid the elderly, disabled, and sick persons in affording their medication. Coverage for the drug plan went into affect January 1, 2006. This plan was called the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) (Cassel, 2005). The final bill that passed, was influenced by drug-company and health insurance lobbyists and focused mainly on the needs of those industries instead of the seniors it was meant to serve (Slaughter, 2006). These plans are operated by insurance companies and some private companies that have been approved by Medicare. Part D is optional only if a person carries health insurance that includes prescription coverage. If at retirement age a person has not signed up for a Medicare drug plan they will pay a penalty for the rest of their lives for signing up at a later date. My father took four prescribed drugs in 2007. One was not covered by the plan and the other three were non-generic. In 2007 my Dad paid over $3,300.00, while ‘The Plan’ paid $1940.00. Can you imagine how much he would have paid if he took 5, 7, or 10 different prescribed medications? Due to the increased cost of prescription medication he will pay more for those three non-generic drugs in 2008. Medicare’s Part D Drug Plan was created to aid the country’s older population with the cost of prescription drugs, but instead the plan increases profits for the insurance industry. Insurance companies need to work together to develop uniform guidelines and a pricing structure that is affordable to all senior citizens.
How are the insurance companies involved in this prescription drug plan? Many elderly had to enroll in a plan by a swiftly selected deadline or face increased premiums each month beyond it, which clearly benefits the insurance companies. Older Americans had little time to choose among the many plans available (Slaughter, 2006). The insurance companies, which are contracted with

References: Cassel, C. (2005). Prescription Drugs The Challenge Remains. Medicare Matters: What Fact Sheet: Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage. Retrieved December 14, 2007, from Gustaitis, J. (2007). Mastering Medicare Part D. Arthritis Self-Management, 8(6), 12-15. Matthews, J.L. & Berman, D.M. (2004). Social Security, Medicare and Government Pensions. Berkeley: Calif Nolo. Retrieved Dec. 11, 2007 from http://libsys.uah.edu:3059/Reader Slaughter, L., M.P.H. (2006). Medicare Part D – The Product of a Broken Process. Retrieved on Jan. 10, 2008 from www.neim.org