Several newspapers recently published editorials, opinion pieces and letters to the editor addressing the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Summaries appear below.
Editorials
Daytona Beach News-Journal: "As of Jan. 1, it became official: Medicare Part D is a mess," a News-Journal editorial states. According to the editorial, "Countless seniors discovered this month that they no longer have the kind of prescription drug coverage they were accustomed to -- and could afford" because "Part D was written to give the advantage to drug manufacturers and insurance companies, not Medicare recipients." In addition, "[a]ny new plan should free the government to negotiate for better prices on drugs," according to the editorial. However, "thousands of seniors can't wait for Congress to act," so "the state should step in" and assist residents now, the News-Journal states (Daytona Beach News-Journal, 1/12).
Detroit Free Press: "The fact that the federal government has had to issue an emergency edict to make sure that people on Medicare get the drugs they need pretty much says it all about the launch of the new prescription plan," a Free Press editorial states. The editorial says that the temporary fix is "just a Band-Aid," but "it buys some time," which "the feds had better use ... to make the thing work." The editorial concludes, "It is good that the administration is reacting to this 'emergency.' It would have been better to prevent it" (Detroit Free Press, 1/17).
Miami Herald: The drug benefit "was supposed to bring relief to seniors, ... subsidize our country's neediest beneficiaries" and offer a "seamless transition," but "[t]he actual roll-out has been an unmitigated disaster," a Herald editorial says. It adds, "The snafus have created a national medical emergency." The editorial continues, "Congress should rethink the program and fix flaws inherent in the overly complicated program." It concludes, "Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration does not see a crisis. Those who can't get their medicines would disagree. The problem is urgent. A national remedy is needed -- now. Gov. Jeb Bush (R) should ensure beneficiaries get drug coverage now, and bill the federal government later" (Miami Herald, 1/17).
Lincoln Journal Star: Since the "new Medicare drug plan literally can be the difference between life and death," it is "frustrating that so many problems have cropped up as the new plan rolled out this year," a Journal Star editorial states. According to the editorial, "Federal officials say that the problems are only temporary and that many problems will disappear as soon as computer systems catch up on the backlog of new information," but "[t]hey had better be right" because "[s]o far, the new program seems more like a hassle than a benefit" (Peoria Journal Star, 1/12).
Philadelphia Inquirer: Thus far, the prescription drug plan "nicknamed 'Part D' wouldn't even earn a grade 'D'" -- the seniors who first joined the program "would find an 'F' more fitting, given the maddening glitches they've encountered since the program's launch," an Inquirer editorial states. "The inability of pharmacies to verify" Medicare coverage and "[c]omputer errors that resulted in some customers being slapped with erroneous co-pay charges of as much as $250" are "[t]wo problems [that] demand swift attention," according to the editorial. It concludes, "With millions on Medicare yet to sign up for the new drug coverage, fixing the Part D glitches soon is a national health concern" (Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/14).
Opinion Pieces
James Roosevelt, Boston Globe: The drug benefit "has been in effect for only a few weeks" and "represents a major advance in coverage for seniors, and many of its problems can be corrected," James Roosevelt, president and CEO of Tufts Health Plan in Massachusetts and former associate commissioner of Social Security, writes in a Globe opinion piece. Roosevelt recommends giving seniors "the full year of 2006 to sign up or switch plans without penalties and restrictions" and revise CMS brochures and its Web site to make "crucial information ... readily available and accurate." He adds that CMS should "compare for its beneficiaries the costs and benefits of the drug plan options it offers." He says, "The market needs time to sort itself out" and "as typically occurs in new markets, the best offerings will emerge, reducing confusion in favor of the most popular, valuable plans. If this doesn't occur, Congress should authorize [CMS] to limit the number of plans available." Roosevelt concludes, "Over time, [CMS] should regulate the competition it has created to serve consumers and should guide its beneficiaries toward value, rather than push them into uninformed choice. If in doing so, Congress is guided by principles of fairness, simplicity, and guaranteed coverage, it can build upon my grandfather's (President Franklin D. Roosevelt) legacy" of setting up Social Security (Roosevelt, Boston Globe, 1/14).
Rachelle Cohen, Boston Herald: "Medicare never anticipated that aging parents might have children in other states who deal with their affairs," Rachelle Cohen, editor of the Herald's editorial pages, writes. Cohen, who lives in Boston but is helping her Pennsylvania-based mother sign up, details her difficulty in getting information about Pennsylvania plans sent out-of-state. She continues, "Maybe it was like this when Medicare began. Maybe it was even like this when Social Security had its start. Maybe it's all just a bad dream, and we'll awaken next month and it will all be better." She concludes, "But with the freight train of my fellow baby boomers comin' straight at the system in the years ahead, there's no time to waste to get it right" (Cohen, Boston Herald, 1/17).
Wilma Chan, San Francisco Chronicle: "[I]t is primarily the federal government's responsibility to ensure that the [drug benefit] is user friendly and addresses consumer concerns," and "that responsibility has not been met" because the program is "unnecessarily complex," state Assembly member Chan (D) writes in a San Francisco Chronicle opinion piece. According to Chan, "Older adults have waited a long time for Medicare to include a comprehensive prescription drug benefit, so that their personal savings don't get eaten up by rising drug costs," and "[w]e need to keep that promise" (Chan, San Francisco Chronicle, 1/13).
Letters to the Editor
Oliver Fein, New York Times: "Medicare recipients are being denied promised prescription help," which has "already increased hospitalizations," Oliver Fein, chairman of the New York Metro Chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program, writes in a Times letter to the editor. Fein adds, "Today's mess could have been avoided if Congress had included the pharmacy benefit in Medicare and allowed Medicare to negotiate prices." He concludes, "Congress should make changes in the drug benefit, instead of letting it serve as an opening wedge to privatizing and thus undermining original Medicare. Then it should extend Medicare coverage to everyone" (Fein, New York Times, 1/15).
Robert Hayes, New York Times: "Congress should enact an affordable, cost-effective and standardized drug benefit administered directly by the government, like the traditional Medicare program people overwhelmingly value," Robert Hayes, Medicare Rights Center president, writes in a Times letter to the editor. He concludes, "The country needs to invest in Americans, not in incomprehensible insurance packages that are a gold minefield for consumers, but a gold mine for insurance and drug companies" (Hayes, New York Times, 1/15).
John Rockefeller, New York Times: "If Congress does not take extraordinary legislative action, we could see tens of thousands of Americans subject to unnecessary illness and hardship," Sen. John Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) writes in a Times letter to the editor. He says, "The federal government must take emergency action and should also fully reimburse states and pharmacies for the unexpected costs they are incurring" (Rockefeller, New York Times, 1/17).
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