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Post by graybeard on Oct 10, 2007 10:46:02 GMT -6
I'm retar'd from a VERY profitable aerospace electronics company. Just heard their drug coverage for retirees eligible for Medicare will terminate this year. I have only a couple of blood pressure prescriptions, but the wife is a heavy hitter. Will Part D help, or be just the ripoff I suspect?
GB
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Post by unlawflcombatnt on Oct 15, 2007 0:46:23 GMT -6
If you believe the stories by the Bush administration and the Pharmaceutical cartel, Part D will help.
If you're losing your drug coverage entirely, Part D will help. I suspect it won't be as good as the one you previously had through your employer.
Drug prices have increased astronomically over the last 10 years. Big Pharma has been planning for the day when the government would start paying for drug coverage, so they jacked prices up as high as they could prior to this. I have catalogs and pharmaceutical guides from 10-12 years ago that list prices. In many cases, prices of older drugs are 10 times what they were 10 years ago. In some cases, they are 100 times as high.
Medicare part D might have been a good deal if the government had negotiated prices. Since prices are not negotiated, it's not that good a deal.
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Post by blueneck on Oct 15, 2007 4:13:36 GMT -6
Probably the biggest proof of price jack-ups is the fact that you can buy the exact same drugs made by all the exact same companies in Canada for less than half
You might want to consider one of the many bus trips to Canada - we have a cottage industry that has sprung up around here - guys with weekly bus trips taking people to Canada to get meds and medical care - even with the cost of the bus ticket these folks are saving a ton of cash
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Post by graybeard on Oct 15, 2007 12:07:41 GMT -6
Thanks, guys.
From SoCalif, Mexico is a lot closer, but can be hazardous. Annual trips to Cabo may be the doctor's remedy. Drugs used to be price controlled in Mexico. In fine print there was a "pvp", maximum price to the public, listed on each container. 10-20 years ago, Lomotil over the counter, for example, cost less than 10% of what it cost with a prescription in the US.
GB
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Post by nomad943 on Oct 16, 2007 6:36:13 GMT -6
Medicade Part D and more affordable drugs ... another fine topic with obscured lines of battle and a completly confusing list from which to choose supposed allies ... Here's a recap from this spring quickly forgotten mahem that still has me scratching my head www.nytimes.com/2007/05/08/washington/08drug.html?ex=1336276800&en=31ecaa3fb8718ffc&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss"Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, was a pivotal figure. He is the chief author of the bill overhauling the F.D.A. In the past, Mr. Kennedy has voted to allow drug imports, and he is a co-sponsor of a bill to do just that. But on Monday, Mr. Kennedy voted against Mr. Dorgan’s proposal, and encouraged others to do so, because he feared that it would sink the overall bill granting new powers to the food and drug agency." "Mr. Dorgan said the vote showed “the clout that the drug industry has here in Congress.”" Hmm ..
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