NYT: Agency (GAO) Uncovers Problems in (Medicare) Drug Discount Program

Agency Uncovers Problems in Drug Discount Program
By ROBERT PEAR
Published: December 1, 2005


WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 - Congressional investigators said Wednesday that they had found serious, widespread problems in a government program that issued drug discount cards to 6.4 million Medicare beneficiaries, as a precursor to the full-fledged drug benefit that takes effect next year.

The problems included inaccurate and incomplete information - disseminated by the government and insurance companies - and improper use of the discount cards to buy barbiturates and certain other drugs, explicitly forbidden by Congress.

The Bush administration had said the discount cards would cut retail prices of prescription drugs by 10 percent to 25 percent. But the investigators, from the Government Accountability Office, said Medicare officials could not document the savings because "there was a lack of reliable data" on the price concessions obtained from drug manufacturers and pharmacies.

Of the 6.4 million people who received discount cards, 1.9 million had low incomes and therefore qualified for extra assistance, up to $600 a year for each person. The administration had predicted that 4.7 million low-income people would sign up for such assistance.

The cards were issued by private entities - insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers - known as drug card sponsors. The sponsors had contracts with the federal government, which endorsed their cards and regulated their operations. The Bush administration approved 39 national cards and 32 for specific regions....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/01/politics/01medicare.html?hp&ex=1133499600&en=f7b65fe8d96d404b&ei=5094&partner=homepage

and found none that were cheaper after the "discount" then drugstore.com or Costco, let alone Canada.

This whole thing has been a very bad joke.

Representative Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California, who requested the study, said it was an ominous portent for the new drug benefit. "Continued lax oversight and enforcement will serve neither seniors nor the taxpayers," Mr. Waxman said, noting "fundamental similarities" between the drug card program and the drug benefit.

But Dr. Mark B. McClellan, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, defended the discount card program, saying it had produced significant savings for beneficiaries.

Moreover, he said, "we have learned many valuable lessons" that will be applied to the drug benefit next year.

In its report, the accountability office, a nonpartisan arm of Congress, made these points:

Just like everything else W has done.

.....The report said that Medicare's "telephone help line and Web site did not always provide the information beneficiaries needed to choose a card that was best for them." Many "found the Web-based information more perplexing than helpful," the report said.

The government received nearly 11,000 complaints from beneficiaries who had problems with the drug card program, and card sponsors received 15,000 complaints.

Medicare officials took disciplinary action against drug card sponsors in 23 cases. The actions included nine warning letters and one civil fine, imposed for repeated violations.

Dr. McClellan said the number of problems and complaints was relatively small, given the size of the program. "Millions of prescriptions have been filled, with only a tiny fraction of complaints or compliance issues," he said.

This program is a total mess.

:crazy:

was facing a huge backlash - and they had to do something. So they create the myth that the issue of drug costs is fixed. A few examples they can hold up - but mostly they managed to undo the anger of seniors. And - their buying power as a group. (Economies of scale are only for corporations - co-op power and other ways of putting money into the hands of large numbers of non rich - well those are unacceptable - they are not allowed to take advantage of their size)

The good news is that people really don't believe most neocon policy is what it is presented at. Critics get that it is mostly orwellian. And they will fall for "clear skies" "healthy forests" and the other slogans much less.