The fixation, may I call it obsession over the revolting execution of the Iraqi dictator is big news on Daily Kos and the MSM.
Forgive me for injecting a dose of reality into all the Saddem hoopla and hysteria. Many Americans have such enormous daily crises that the horrific events in Iraq of necessity take a back seat. Day-to-day life precludes them from dwelling for too long on Mr. Hussein and his ignominious end.
Our beleaguered seniors, are once again up against the Medicare D wall. The yearly Medicare D deadline is looming. They have until midnight tomorrow, December 31st, to select a prescription drug plan.
The Republican Medicare Modernization Act which created Medicare D, permitted the plans to change the formulary (the list of drugs available), every year. So with very little help, seniors face enormous decisions, and December 31st becomes a critical date.
Imagine being younger, say 40 or 50 and having to deal with changing your insurer or your prescription drug supplier every year. It would be daunting. Yet this is precisely how the Medicare D program works. This is how the Republican Congress decided to deal with the dire health needs of America's elderly.
There is massive confusion across the land today.
The 140,000 Montanans who are eligible for Medicare have until the clock strikes midnight Sunday to switch prescription drug plans or find themselves out of luck when coverage changes take effect in 2007.
The annual open enrollment period that began Nov. 15 will end Dec. 31, closing the one time each year most of the nation's 43 million Medicare beneficiaries are allowed to change their prescription drug plans. This year, they have 1,875 such plans to wade through before making a choice.
With so many options, many seniors are opting not to bother - which could prove the most costly choice, since premiums and benefits for many plans will change with the new year. Those who don't review those changes could wind up paying more - or worse, paying into a plan that doesn't cover their prescriptions at all.http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/12/28/news/mtregional/news05.txt
Do you undertand now why Saddem, is but a tragic footnote?
This identical scenerio is playing out in homes across America. The elderly are too busy worrying which ineffective plan will do less damage. Saddem Hussein is just not in the equation.
I can tell you from personal experience that what Jane Brody wrote in November in The New York Times is 100% accurate.
There are two main problems with Part D:
- There are far too many choices. California, for example, has 55 stand-alone prescription drug plans, not counting dozens more in individual counties. Each plan has its own premium, its own formulary for the drugs it covers, its own deductible and its own copayments for individual drugs. Anyone taking half a dozen prescription drugs may need higher math to figure out which plan would provide the most benefits. During this next sign-up period, the Medicare Rights Center will provide free access to its plan finder, at www.medicarerights.org/help.html.
- It is very difficult to get accurate, unbiased information about individual plans. Part D plan call centers are run by private companies, and a recent study by the Government Accountability Office and advocacy groups found that consumers got correct answers only one-third of the time when they called for information about drug plans. The 1-800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227) line does a better job, with two-thirds of its answers correct, the study found.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
I am in Los Angeles, last night I was with my mother at the home of a friend, her kitchen table was littered with Medicare D offerings. She didn't have a clue who to call, what questions to ask, or what to do. She asked me for advice. I had none to offer.
This eighty something American citizen was beside herself. She takes 8-10 drugs, many very costly and she, like so many, is overwhelmed, fustrated and scared.
She is scared that if she remains in her current plan, she won't have access to the medications she requires to stay alive. She is scared that her costs will soar. She is scared that if she switches plans, she will make the wrong choice. She is scared that, when she can get through (rarely), she is receiving bad advice from the help lines.
This senior citizen, like millions has no time for Saddem Hussein. America's seniors have their own looming deadline.
And one more thing, this senior won't give Democrats a pass. She wants the whole revolting mess shut down and an authentic, user-friendly (NOT a giveaway to the pharmaceutical industry) plan substituted.