You can only change cards once a year. Yet the drug companies can change the deal you signed up for weekly.
Sounds like a new form of credit card. And, I'm sure that the real terrible effects of this will only be felt after the election.
The DNC showed that it would generally be cheaper to order drugs from Canada than to use any of the drug discount cards and generally cheaper to buy drugs at regular prices than to use any of them.
Here is how I have it the article referenced on a blog:
Posted 050504
Drugs Will Cost More with new Discount Cards (U.S. Newswire)
Excerpt: THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME KEY FACTS ABOUT THE NEW MEDICARE DRUG CARD:
1) THE MEDICARE DISCOUNT CARD IS OFTEN MORE EXPENSIVE THAN WHAT IS AVAILABLE TO SENIORS TODAY. The discount card that Bush is touting actually offers prices that are higher than what is available on the market today for many drugs. Seniors also must pay an annual fee for the drug card, so they will pay higher prices for some drugs.
Prices with Medicare Savings Card vs. Current Prices (All price comparisons in this report are drawn from "New Medicare Drug Cards Offer Few Discounts", Minority Staff, Committee on Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, April 2004.)
Prices under Medicare Savings Card Current Prices without Savings Card
Lipitor (10mg, 30 cap) Pharmacy Care Alliance: $74.72 RxSavings: $71.19
Prevacid (30mg, 30 cap) Pharmacy Care Alliance: $130.68 RxSavings: $147.01
Zocor (40 mg, 30 tap) Pharmacy Care Alliance: $128.69 RxSavings: $124.32
Aricept (10 mg, 30 cap) Pharmacy Care Alliance: $139.11 RxSavings: $132.39
Lipitor (10mg, 30 cap) Drugstore.com: $62.99 Federal Supply Schedule: $40.10
Prevacid (30mg, 30 cap) Drugstore.com: $120.99 Federal Supply Schedule: $53.90
Zocor (40 mg, 30 tap) Drugstore.com: $123.99 Federal Supply Schedule: $69.27
Aricept (10 mg, 30 cap) Drugstore.com: $127.99 Federal Supply Schedule: $76.51
These four drugs are all among the top ten most popular drugs. In addition to the higher prices, Pharmacy Care Alliance charges a $19 annual fee. The RxSavings card charges a $29.95 annual fee. Yet both cards make it more expensive to buy a market basket of the ten most popular drugs. That market basket would only cost $959 from Drugstore.com. It would cost $1,046 from RxSavings, and $1,061 from Pharmacy Care Alliance.
2) THE PRICES FROM THE DRUG DICOUNT CARD ARE FAR MORE EXPENSIVE THAN WOULD BE AVAILABLE IF BUSH WOULD SIGN REAL REIMPORTATION: American drugs produced by American companies are much less expensive for Canadian Seniors. Republicans fought real reimportation.
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Canadian Prices vs. Medicare Savings Card Prices for Four Popular Drugs
Prices under Medicare Savings Card Current Prices (Canada)
Lipitor (10mg, 30 cap) Pharmacy Care Alliance: $74.72 RxSavings: $71.19
Prevacid (30mg, 30 cap) Pharmacy Care Alliance: $130.68 RxSavings: $147.01
Zocor (40 mg, 30 tap) Pharmacy Care Alliance: $128.69 RxSavings: $124.32
Aricept (10 mg, 30 cap) Pharmacy Care Alliance: $139.11 RxSavings: $132.39
Lipitor (10mg, 30 cap): $49.85
Prevacid (30mg, 30 cap): $56.54
Zocor (40 mg, 30 tap): $63.98
Aricept (10 mg, 30 cap): $119.04
3) DRUG MANAGERS CAN POCKET THE MONEY. Even though George Bush's misleading ads try to convince seniors that they will save money, the truth is that prescription drug companies are not required to offer seniors a minimum discount. In fact, companies offering the new card have to pass on a "share" of the rebates they receive but they don't have to pass on all of it - and they don't have to tell beneficiaries about how much of the discount they are pocketing. Insurance companies also are not required to disclose drug prices before the supposed reductions are imposed. Already, drug companies are hiking up their prices in anticipation of the "discount" they might offer.
4) ONE CHOICE, ONE CHANCE. Insurance companies can change which drugs are covered and the amount of discounts offered any time they want. However, seniors can only choose one card instead of using numerous cards to increase savings. Also, seniors will be prohibited from changing cards for one year. Once seniors are locked into a card, they can't switch - even if they find greater discounts with another card or the insurance companies
That doesn't sound like the promise the President made when he was campaigning in 2000. Then, he criticized the Democrats saying: "The Gore plan offers seniors one choice, one chance, one option. I offer seniors the prescription drug coverage they need, and the options they deserve." (Santa Fe New Mexican, 10/31/00). But now seniors get their one chance to make a risky choice, while insurance companies have free reign to change their plans and their prices.
5) PRIVACY AT RISK. Insurance companies participating in the drug card program can collect seniors' medical information, including which drugs they're buying, when and where they're purchasing drugs, and what they're paying. And how will this information be used? Insurers can base coverage decisions on this data in 2006 and afterwards - putting high-cost beneficiaries at risk of being refused coverage by companies wanting to protect their bottom line.
6) THE MEDICARE BILL IS A SPECIAL INTEREST GRAB-BAG. From start to finish, the Medicare Bill has been a scandalous giveaway to the drug industry. The White House withheld information about the actual cost of the bill and then tried to silence the Medicare Actuary from disclosing the true cost of the bill. The GAO has criticized the ad campaign intended to promote the benefit as misleading. The bill bans the federal government from using its buying power to negotiate lower prices. An ethics investigation is looking into whether House leaders tried to intimidate and bribe Rep. Nick Smith into voting for the bill.
The original article is at:
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=29803Their tables make it a lot clearer.
Save the above info for arguments.
I have it referenced in archive at
http://news4u.alturl.com/economy/archive4-e.html , but I don't have a bookmark on the specific spot. (It has the tables too)