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Seniors
increasingly becoming
independent agents in making decisions
by Dr. Gema Hernandez
For
years elders attending senior centers or becoming members of elder g roups have traditionally followed the recommendations of the group or
the agency. This has given
tremendous power to those organizations that could claim when it came
time for elections, writing campaigns, sending emails or supporting
politicians, that the agency or the group influenced hundreds or
millions of elders. This is
what is known as political capital and elders have been an important
political capital for those agencies.
The
Modernization of the Medicare program is discovering that the influence
agencies, programs and organizations have on elders is diminishing
because elders are beginning to second guess what others are saying is
good for them. Of the 7.3 million projected elders that would enroll in
the Discount Card program only 700,000 have done so. This number does
not include the number of elders who are members of an HMO, those
Medicare recipients were transferred automatically without their full
consent or even knowledge.
Not
even AARP, with an estimate of 23 million “real” members and 32
million “alleged” members has been able to enroll more than 400
Medicare recipients in one of 40 or so nationally approved Discount Card
Programs. While there are 40 or so national programs in our
individual states there could be 65 or more programs just targeting the
local or regional Medicare population.
Why
are elders not enrolling in the Medicare Prescription Drug Program? This
non enrollment is of course very disturbing to the Budget process
because the administration has used the projected number of enrollees to
present the 2004-2005 Medicare budget, and if the enrollment does not
catch up soon, serious and deep budget cuts would have to be made to
other parts of the Medicare program like Part A Hospital and Part B
Medical coverage. Doctors and Hospitals will be affected in the
reimbursement rate they receive for their services.
There
are several reasons why elders are not enrolling in the program, but the
most compelling one is that it limits choices and makes elders captive
of a company or a pharmacy for at least one year.
This captivity is against the spirit of our culture which is
based on freedom to choose, freedom to move around and freedom to
express opinions and desires. This captivity also means that if the
pharmacy or company decides to drop your medication from the list or
increase the cost of your prescription you have no choice but to stay
with them until the year is over.
The
lack of enthusiasm about the prescription drug program has forced
organizations like AARP to support the Re importation Bill.
The support for this bill comes several months too late. The Re
importation Bill is still being debated as of this writing.
Its future, while bright, may be limited due to the fact that
American pharmaceutical companies began this month to limit the
distribution of drugs to Canadian pharmacies. If Canadian pharmacies are
not able to obtain enough supplies to re import medication to the
US
at a more affordable price, the re-importation bill may be a moot
action. It has been said that AARP is supporting the Re importation bill
because 80,000 members have objected to AARP’s position in regard to
the Medicare Modernization Act. The 80,000 members’ objection became
obvious when they dropped their membership in the organization.
If
there is a need to enroll 7 million participants it is very possible
that the only ads we will see on TV with the exception of political ads
this summer is advertisement about the Prescription Drug Discount Cards.
While the ads on TV make it sound as easy as showing a piece of paper to
your Pharmacist the reality is much more complicated.
Because
participants are being enrolled automatically it is important for you to
first find out if you are one of those individuals that has no choice
and therefore whether you are thrilled about the program or not you are
already in the program. If you are a Medicaid and Medicare recipient you
have been enrolled in the program without your knowledge. The same is
true if you are a member of an HMO. You are also in danger of losing
your freedom to chose if you attend a senior center and your activity
director, social worker or the president of the senior center is pushing
for your enrollment in the program. Make sure you don’t sign papers
that you don’t understand, make sure you read the fine print before
you commit the next year of your life to a program that may not be the
best for you.
As
a general rule if you don’t live in
Florida
the entire year you should not sign for a program that may not cover
your two places of residence. If you have a special condition that
requires special medication only produced by one company be very careful
and wait until the dust settles. More importantly, wait until you see
what is going to happen with the Re importation Bill. I would rather buy
my medication from
Canada
at a discount rate than limit my options too early. I would rather keep
my freedom to choose than blindly accept the hearsay of centers,
companies and organizations that for years have been using my political
capital as their own. I am proud that elders are finally becoming their
own independent agents.
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