Part D Medicare is a popular program used by many, but it is not immune to review as part of the Medicare overhaul process. The “fix” to part D may result in increased costs an less efficacy as the article below notes.
In December, the Iowa Business Council’s quarterly survey of Iowa business leaders pointedly noted that “questions persist about the economy and the federal government’s debt and budget issues.”
If anything, that’s an understatement. Medicare’s long-term finances alone face a shocking $38 trillion shortfall. If we don’t fix Medicare, it will drown our economy in debt. But there are right ways and wrong ways to reform Medicare.
A proposal in Congress to overhaul Medicare’s prescription drug benefit, Part D, is on the wrong track. Iowa’s economy and job market depend on Part D.
More than 30 million Americans get prescription drugs through Part D, and over half a million Iowa seniors are eligible. A recent poll in USA Today showed “90 percent of seniors are satisfied with the program” and “53 percent would be more likely to cut back or stop taking medicine altogether” without coverage provided by Part D. The premiums are affordable, averaging just $30 a month.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that the 10-year cost of Medicare Part D will come in 41 percent lower than initial projections. And the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that Part D saves $12 billion a year, because increased access to prescription drugs prevents hospitalization and keeps seniors out of nursing homes.
Now Congress wants to undermine Part D’s structure with a rebate program for seniors who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. Drug manufacturers would have to refund a portion of the sales price for these beneficiaries.
Rest of article at The Gazette