Unfettered Letters

Prescription drug costs

I read George Will’s hand-wringing column about the imminent demise of Medicare (2/7, Opinion, “Obama willing, Congress weak on entitlements”). Maybe if our government were willing to curb corporate welfare for the prescription drug companies, we could save a few billion.

I was shocked to find that my Medicare Plan D cost for one of my prescriptions, for both my co-pay and Medicare, was $392 for a 90-day supply, and another was $265 for 90 days. I checked prices at a Canadian pharmacy and found their price was $110 for the former and $200 for the latter for the same product.

I have heard all the special pleading from pharmaceutical companies about the cost of research being high. But does this mean that the U.S. is footing the bill for it while other countries regulate prices? Maybe, but I think we have a case of what Will euphemizes as “political free speech”— i.e. bribery of Congress.

Drug companies enjoy a monopoly on patented prescription drugs. We should regulate their prices.

Carrol L. Fry
Maryville, Mo.

Open enrollment for Medicare Part D

On behalf of the American Stroke Foundation, I’d like to remind all seniors and those with disabilities who take part in the Medicare Part D benefit (prescription drug benefit) that now until Dec. 31 is open enrollment.

Medicare Part D beneficiaries can compare their plan against 48 other plans offered in Kansas and Missouri to make sure they’re getting the best plan that fits their needs. Each year, plans can change, and prescription needs can change as well.

In a national study, more than 80 percent of seniors have indicated they are satisfied with the Medicare Part D benefit. If you are satisfied with you plan, you won’t have to do anything to stay enrolled for next year. If you’d like to look around at other plans, please call 1-800-MEDICARE or go to www.medicare.gov

Patrick Ayers
President and CEO, American Stroke Foundation
Mission

Medicare improvement bill

In debates about major legislation, rarely does a bill have the strong and diverse support like that of the bipartisan Medicare improvement bill just approved by Congress. Kansas seniors, doctors, pharmacists, hospitals, military families and I all worked together to pass this bill.

We preserved seniors’ access to care and improved the care they received.

Doctors don’t have to worry about an unworkable 10 percent cut in reimbursements from Medicare.

Pharmacists will be promptly paid under Medicare and will not face cuts in reimbursements, preserving critical care local pharmacies provide to Kansans — changes I have long sought.

And finally, I saw to it the bill contains important provisions I wrote to address the challenges of health care in rural America.

It has been my pleasure to work with so many Kansans on this legislation. It is clear that support from the Kansas AARP, Kansas Medical Society, Kansas Hospital Association, Kansas Pharmacists Association, and all of the other military, provider and patient groups helped get this bill approved.

It was unfortunate the president chose to veto it, but I am glad Congress swiftly voted to override. Improvements to Medicare are on the way.

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts
Kansas Republican
Washington, D.C.

Editor’s note: Sen. Roberts is a member of the Senate Committee on Finance and a Member of the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee. He is co-chairman of the Senate Rural Health Caucus.

Medical group thanks Roberts

There’s no doubt that this year’s harsh Medicare physician payment cut would have harmed access to health care for seniors, those with disabilities and military families (7/10, A-7, “Senate prevents payment cuts to doctors for Medicare”). At the last moment, the U.S. Congress acted to stop the cut with veto-proof majorities in both the House and Senate.

The American Medical Association thanks Sen. Pat Roberts for standing up for seniors and their physicians by voting to stop the cuts. This vote was vital, as 60 percent of physicians said the Medicare cut would force them to limit the number of new Medicare patients they could treat.

Tens of thousands of patients and physicians contacted their senators in the first week of July urging action, and Sen. Roberts heard and heeded their plea. For that, the physicians of America are sincerely grateful.

Nancy H. Nielsen
President, American Medical Association
Chicago

Support for Medicare bill

Recently, the U.S. Senate and House worked to pass legislation that would assure that severe payment cuts to physicians would be reversed. This would enable physicians to continue to see their current patients and allow them to take new Medicare patients as they turn 65. Another benefit to this bill: Medicare patients could be assured access to their community pharmacies, of which I represent close to 200 in Missouri.

While the House moved quickly to pass this Medicare bill, the U.S. Senate stalled due to political posturing between the two parties. I thank Sen. Claire McCaskill for voting in favor of this bill. But Sen. Kit Bond, wanting to vote along party lines, voted against it. I hope he will remember to support his constituents and their physicians and local pharmacies during his recent return to Washington. Not only is the health of our citizens at stake, but the health of our local economies is as well.

Dale E. Smith
Director of TriNet third party services, PBA Health
Kansas City

Issues with Medicare and Medicaid

Medicare’s spending cuts

I disagree with spending cuts Medicare keeps making with respect to physician reimbursement (6/27, A-1, “KC area braces for new Medicare bid program; In order to cut costs, lower rates will be paid to medical equipment suppliers as of Tuesday”). Doctors have been squeezed to the point that they are refusing to take new Medicare patients, and the quality of care to the elderly will certainly suffer in the long run.

However, I believe the Advanced Medical DME portion of their program is long overdue for a trim. I’ve been using a CPAP machine for more than a year and find the price being reimbursed to my supplier is grossly inflated.

Harley Metcalfe’s claim of the “incredible amount of time” to train patients is pure hogwash. I had far more trouble learning how to operate my microwave oven.

Nancy Thompson
Jefferson City

Medicaid and Disabilities Act

There are increasingly fewer providers that accept Medicaid for personal care services. The trend is to self-direct your supports, but finding agencies that supply trained certified nurse’s aides in various parts of this city is very limited.

Many organizations take only take private-pay clients at the rate of $18 to $25 per hour, making this type of service out of our reach, although the need is great for families that care for elderly parents or have a disabled member of their household.

A local organization commented that “Medicaid requires us to abide by too many rules, for example, our building has to be handicapped accessible.”

The Americans with Disabilities Act is interpreted narrowly, denying protection to people Congress intended the law to cover. Ask your lawmakers to restore the promise of the ADA. We all have a voice. Let them hear yours.

Paula Shepherd
Kansas City

Prescription drug price markups

I read with great interest LaVerne Fieseler’s trouble with Medicare (5/7, Letters). As a pharmacist, I would question the physician’s price of Procrit: $1,280 per week. This drug can be purchased, by a wholesaler, for less than $600 per week. So why such a large markup for a life-sustaining drug?

While Medicare may not reimburse a truly fair amount, physicians have too long overcharged for medications they administer in their office.

Eric McKinnon
Shawnee

Medicare coverage

Medicare is supposed to be health insurance for the elderly. Then why isn’t it? My doctor informs me that Medicare will no longer pay for the weekly injections of Procrit I need to stay alive. Now I must have blood transfusions to do this. Blood transfusions are certainly no picnic and, I might add, they are risky.

My doctor charges $1,280 for one weekly injection of Procrit. Medicare pays my doctor only $290. I certainly can’t afford to pay for this, which amounts to about $66,000 a year.

When is our president or our next president going to fix this problem? Or is the plan to kill off the still very useful to society 70-year-olds?

LaVerne Fieseler
Olathe

Expanding Medicare

Clark Coan (4/19, Letters) says that every American should be entitled to Medicare. He thinks Rep. Dennis Moore should co-sponsor Bill HR 676, which says exactly that.

Without massive tax increases, this bill, if passed, would bankrupt the U.S. and would effectively make all Americans dependent upon our federal government. This is socialism, exactly what our Founding Fathers pushed away in our Constitution.

Karl Marx would be proud if this passes. I will urge Rep. Moore to vote against HR 676.

Amy Brown
Leawood

Social Security warning

In their annual meeting, trustees for Medicare and Social Security warned that these two benefit programs are facing “enormous challenges”. (3/26, C-2, “A warning on Social Security and Medicare”)

According to their analysis, the Social Security trust fund will be depleted by 2041 and the Medicare trust fund will run dry by 2019.

As 78 million baby boomers start retiring, these two programs will cause a fiscal train wreck, unless serious action is taken now.

Our next president must make recommendations to deal with this projected shortfall, yet the candidates have not addressed this serious problem. Voters need to ask the presidential candidates how they propose to remedy this impending disaster.

Jane Toliver
Leawood