Medication Concerns For The Elderly

        The ability of older Americans to pay for their prescription drugs is drawing attention from several groups, including the federal government, health care providers, pharmaceutical companies, and seniors themselves.  About 15 million seniors do not have any prescription coverage at all.  These individuals have either Medicare benefits only or have Medicare plus a secondary insurance that does not cover medications.  The elderly spend more of their health care dollar on medications (16 cents) than on physicians (15 cents).  Numerous solutions to address this problem have been proposed by Congress, President Clinton, and other individuals.  These include using budget surplus monies, altering Medicaid eligibility, creating an optional Medicare benefit (part D), and creating a federal-state program for Medicare enrollees that are not eligible for Medicaid.  This issue must be addressed.  In 1997 there were 38.6 million Medicare beneficiaries, and in 2017 this group is estimated to grow to 56.3 million.

    Did You Know

       
    • Filling prescriptions will cost the average Medicare beneficiary who has no drug coverage approximately $590.00 this year.
    • The average price for prescriptions rose 40% between 1993 and 1998.

      • 80% of all retired persons take at least one prescription drug everyday.
      ***Five commonly prescribed drug cost for one year***
      Prilosec 20mg $1,787.76
      Norvasc 5mg $632.28
      Zocor 10mg $1,004.28
      Lanoxin .125mg $179.76
      Claritan 10 mg $724.80
      President Clinton's Plan
      A new prescription drug benefit, available as an option starting in 2002:
      • The government would pay half the first $2,000 of drug costs in a year.  Costs above $2,000 would have to be paid by the beneficiary.
      • Elimination of all copayments and deductibles  for preventive medical care, including mammograms, prostate cancer screenings and diabetes management.
        • A new 20 percent copayment for lab tests for which beneficiaries currently pay no out-of-pocket fees.
        Source: Associated Press.

      Where to go from here:
      Contact senators and representatives on the AARP Webplace
      For more information, click here