Medicare Drug Plan Problems

The new Medicare Part D benefit for prescription drugs has been in effect for a week now and numerous problems have arisen. Talk with pharmacists and you will hear that there is much confusion and frustration ontheir part and for their patients. Many do not have proof of coverage, and phone lines to Medicare or the insurance companies who cover their drugs to verify coverage have been jammed. They also report that many seniors are leaving without medications because they cannot afford the co-payments they are being quoted (different than the amount they were told on sign-up) or because the plan they are in does not cover their particular drug. Some States have stepped in with emergency legislation to help vulnerable seniors get their lifesaving medications. The elderly poor who were eligible for Medicaid assistance for drugs have been especially hard hit.