Posted At Asbury Park Press

BY : Richard Brawer

Ididn't think it was possible for Congress to create a program more complicated than the income tax code. But I was wrong. The Medicare Part D prescription drug program makes the income tax code read like a children's book.

I realize compromise is necessary to pass bills. However, the compromise that created the Medicare prescription drug program is beyond comprehension. If this is what a national medical plan will be like — which I am sure is where Congress is headed — heaven help us all, because our elected representatives certainly won't.

In New Jersey there are 54 plans. That is totally ridiculous. But that is not the most ludicrous part of the plan. Selecting a "formulary" (a plan that lists the drugs a person is now using) takes the prize for being the most bizarre. As an author, I can't help but imagine the following scenario:

Mary and John are sitting at the kitchen table studying the Medicare Part D brochure. "John, what diseases are we going to get next year?" Mary asks. John stares at his wife. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, it says here we have to pick a plan that covers the drugs we are now taking and the drugs we are going to take in the future. If we pick a plan and next year we develop a problem that needs a drug not on our plan it won't be covered."

Am I the only one who thinks this is absurd?

I called AARP United Health Care and asked the question about getting a new disease and needing a drug not on my current plan, or a new drug that the FDA just approved that will treat my problem much better than the old ones. They said I would have to have my doctor write a letter telling them why I needed that drug that is not on the plan and then they would "consider" making an exception. More work for the doctor for which he's not getting paid. More anxiety for me in case the drug is denied. Absolutely asinine.

What has been presented to older people, who are much more set in their ways than younger people, is a program that is so confusing that seminars are taking place all over the country just to understand it.

Even the head of the Department of Health and Human Services can't decipher the plan. I saw him interviewed on TV. He said this plan will "help senior citizens manage their drugs better. For example switching to Prilosec instead of Nexium." Well, he is completely wrong. Prilosec is an over-the-counter medicine and is not covered by the plan. Nexium, a prescription drug, is covered by many plans.

What annoys me the most is that Congress does not have to worry about these trivial problems they heap on the rest of us because they have their own medical plan outside of Medicare that is far superior to anything they propose for us peons. And we little people pay for their superior plans with our taxes.

What is wrong with a plan like the following? You pay a premium. There is a deductible that would be waived for lower-income people. All prescription drugs approved by the FDA are covered. After the deductible is met, you pay $5 for generic drugs, $10 for brand-name drugs and $20 for newer drugs that have not yet created a track record of cost and usage.

I know that sounds simple, but simple is often better. I urge all senior citizens and children of senior citizens to demand their congressman correct this prescription drug plan, which as it stands now is an affront to common sense.