Does Medicare Drug Card Reduce Other Benefits?

[shraby]

WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - Against the express wishes of the U.S. Congress in writing last year's sweeping new Medicare law, it appears that low-income beneficiaries who sign up for a $600 subsidy to help pay for their medicines could face a reduction in food stamps they get to help pay for their groceries.


The issue first arose at a Senate hearing Tuesday, when Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle told Medicare Administrator Mark McClellan that he had heard from a constituent who was told that she would be losing some of her food stamps because she had signed up for a new Medicare "drug discount card" that offered the $600 benefit.


"To have to choose between food and drugs, that's just not fair," Daschle said.

(more)
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&ncid=751&e=10&u=/nm/20040610/hl_nm/medicare_drugs_dc>

[progressivebydesign]

1. I heard a bit of this on NPR today..

.. just a blurb. McClellan said 'no way that would happen', but he was wrong. The food stamp people are reducing benefits by 600 bux. The WHite House is just NOW "looking into it". yeah right. How stupid are they over there? NO ONE thought of this?

[Cleita]

2. It really doesn't help anybody except the drug companies.

I'm not getting one for my husband or myself because there really are no benefits there for us that would be helpful. It's only raising the price of drugs because the pharmas can charge anything they want to charge. In the long run the money will drain needed funds from the Medicare fund. This is a terrible thing to do to senior citizens at a time of their life when they are most vulnerable and in need of medical care.

Between privitizing Medicare with HMO coverage and this POS legislation, the neo-cons have rendered an important program pretty useless in the future. Look for old people dying without care prematurely and without the drugs they need to cope.

I haven't heard about it cutting into other programs but it's a terrible thing if it does.

[SoCalDem]

3. Long term....yes..

You must give up medicare in order to "use" the HMO they are offering.. You cannot get the drug coverage with medicare..

Once the medicare coverage is gone, you cannot get it back.. If enough seniors are lured away from medicare, it will be weakened (think school vouchers), and the govt will say.."See, we are losing money on medicare, and more and more seniors are leaving it anyway, so let's just scrap it."

Then when it's gone or weakened, the HMOs will be running out of the "bonus start up" money the chimp gave them, and they will have a captive audience.. They can charge whatever they want.. If the oldsters cannot afford the increases, they can just shuffle off to the corner and die..

[Cleita]

4. Did they change the rules?

My husband had a Medicare HMO for a short while, because he was sold a bunch of lies. Their coverage was not good and most doctors wouldn't accept it. I was able to get his traditional Medicare back and there is no way we will be forced into another HMO. Do they now not let you get Medicare back? This is bad because we found out that these private HMO's will tell you any lie to get you to sign over your benefits and then they change the rules. It's sort of a bait and switch deal.

[SoCalDem]

5. After 2006, it will be either - or..

At least that's what the lady on c-span indicated.. the lead up time if "for people to get used to it".. But my understanding was that when the cards "go away" in 2005 you will have to choose.. drug coverage WITH HMO or none , but you keep medicare.. Once you make the choice, that's it.. They would never allow people jumping back and forth..

That's why the dem senators were livid.. they just wanted to ADD drug coverage to medicare..but the repubes, insisted that the only way you would get drug coverage, was to dump medicare and sign up with the HMO in 2006.. Remember Secure Horizons??? It sounded great, but it did not take them long to realize that they were not going to make money from it, so they dumped all the seniors who signed up for it..

It IS bait & switch..

[Cleita]

6. We just need universal health care like Canada for everyone.

That'll void all these faustian deals between health care charlatans and our government officials who handed them the keys to our health care money.