Posted At Buffalo News
BY : Robert J. McCarthy
More than 100 puzzled faces gathered Monday in the Harlem Road Community Center in Amherst for a Medicare prescription drug forum, but few left with any better understanding of the complicated new federal program.
Sponsored by Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds, R-Clarence, the session was designed to acquaint senior citizens with the new Medicare Part D legislation that extends prescription drug coverage. But with 46 separate plans from which to choose, even Reynolds' best efforts could not prevent most in attendance from scratching their heads.
"There's just too many choices, and you still have to pay out of your own pocket," said Harold Leising of Niagara County, who was attending with his wife, Margaret. "I don't see any advantage at all."
Bernard Winters of Amherst also doubted he would sign up for Part D, while Leising added he just viewed it as another chance for "politicians to screw it all up."
But the congressman still imported a team of health care experts to urge senior citizens to give the new program a try. He acknowledged that as the first significant expansion of Medicare benefits in 40 years, problems and complications will occur. But he also said that enough resources are available in both the public and private domains to help senior citizens steer through the process.
"While it has its complications, seniors are beginning to get this education and make decisions," Reynolds said. "If it's not perfect, it's still the first time prescription drug coverage for seniors is available on a voluntary basis with choice."
As a result of the new program, nearly 280,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Western New York can choose one of 46 stand-alone prescription policies - to be combined with traditional Medicare Part A and Part B - or join one of 17 private Medicare HMO or preferred provider organization plans that include prescription coverage.
Some choices faced by senior citizens:
Charge no deductibles, and others carry annual deductibles of $250.
Cover only generic drugs, and others cover both generic and brand-name medications.
Cover nearly all of the 100 most prescribed drugs. Others have smaller drug formularies, the term used to describe a list of covered drugs.
All of this is causing widespread confusion, according to William Daniels of the Erie County Department of Senior Services, who has scheduled 98 public meetings throughout the county on the new program.
"The main thing I hear is the difficulty in choosing a plan because there are so many choices out there," he said. "We're making progress, but the sheer number of choices makes it difficult."
Indeed, some of that slow progress was noted Monday in Amherst. The Reynolds meeting directed constituents into small group sessions, where some were satisfied that their own private plans or state plans under the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage program would continue to suit them best.
Others found referrals to other government or private sources to help them wade through the paperwork.
While some members of Congress, especially Democrats, have suggested scrapping the program and starting over, Reynolds said he prefers getting this version started and working through the problems.
"We need to monitor it to see what we have to do to make it better, and we'll continue to look at it in the long haul," Reynolds said. "But now is the time to get it up and going."
