Drug plan leaves some empty-handed

Bush administration steps in to make sure patients get medicine

By ANDY MILLER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/16/06
James Lawler went to his usual Douglasville drugstore last week for a refill of his anti-seizure medicine.

But Lawler, who is disabled, got an unusual response — no refill.

That's because Lawler, along with about 135,000 other low-income or disabled Georgians, had his prescription coverage switched Jan. 1 to the new Medicare drug benefit. And his new drug plan, where he was randomly assigned, didn't cover the medication.

"I didn't know what I was going to do,'' said Lawler, 67.

"Two weeks into Medicare's new prescription drug benefit, Georgia pharmacists and insurance counselors report that many poor and disabled patients such as Lawler are having problems getting their drugs. Some are leaving pharmacies empty-handed.

Insurance companies running the drug plans can't be reached to change a patient's drugs, or are charging more than the poor can afford, pharmacists say. Pharmacists have ''loaned'' medications to patients while their insurance coverage gets ironed out. But they wonder how long they can afford the giveaways.

Over the weekend, the Bush administration told insurers that they must dispense a 30-day supply of any drug that a beneficiary was previously taking and that poor people must not be charged more than $5 for a covered drug, The New York Times reported.

In California, officials estimate 200,000 of the state's 1.1 million low-income Medicare beneficiaries had trouble getting their medicines..."

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/business/stories/0116bizmedicare.html

How nice-Bush screws them, then "helps them out"

'helping out' part. The TV media whores are probably going to talk up Bushit's "compassion" on this.

:grr: