Drug Costs, Discount Card Choices Frustrate Older Adults In Evanston

BY KAREN BERKOWITZ – Evanston Review
STAFF WRITER

(June 10, 2004) The high cost of pharmaceuticals is a sore point among Evanston seniors, but so far the new Medicare-approved discount cards have been going over with a thud.

"It's so complicated that people are very confused and frustrated," said Pamela Thomas, director of Evanston/Skokie Valley Senior Services. "They are faced with so many options."

Said Nancy Flowers, ombudsman for the city of Evanston, "The reactions I'm getting from most seniors is that they don't know what to do. People are anxious about this.

"We are still trying to figure out as best we can how to make this as clear as possible to help people think through their options."

Advocates have been unable to offers seniors much in the way of concrete advice, because under the Medicare-approved program, a senior's best option - pricewise - is largely dependent on the specific medications he's taking. There are 43 Medicare-approved discount cards generally available to Illinois residents.

"You have to know what medications you are on and, 'Does this card cover those medications?' " said Flowers. "This week, that might be the right card. Next week, it might not cover your medications anymore."

Seniors accustomed to the standardized Medicare and supplemental insurance programs are baffled by the wide variations in the discount card program.

If there's any certainty, said Flowers, it's that "if you are on SeniorCare Illinois or the state's Circuit Breaker program, those are going to be your best bet, absolutely."

Evanston resident Maurice Lyons, soon to be 89, relaxed when he got a letter from his former employer, an oil company that provides health insurance with pharmaceutical benefits to retirees.

"They've looked into the (Medicare program) and feel they are doing better for me than I can do with the discount cards," said Lyons, a resident of the Georgian. "They are suggesting I forget about it. They will continue to study it" to determine how the permanent Medicare benefit in 2006 will affect the company plan for retirees.

While Medicare issues ordinarily would be a hot topic among residents at the Georgian, the discount cards are generating little buzz, said Lyons - perhaps a sign that residents are waiting out the interim program or sticking with other discount programs.

Some seniors are finding better deals elsewhere.

"We have some sophisticated clients who are comfortable ordering drugs from Canada or buying at wholesale clubs like Costco and Sam's Club," said Jean Cleland, director of education for the North Shore Senior Center. "I'm told by a lot of customers that pricing at Costco and Sam's is cheaper, even without using a card."

Drug costs can weigh heavily on seniors struggling to pay a multitude of bills on fixed incomes.

"We see a lot of clients who have multiple prescriptions and the cost is so high, it is really a burden," said Thomas, whose agency provides case management and counseling to people 60 or older, or their care providers, in Evanston and Niles townships.

She hears stories of seniors cutting their pills in half or taking their medications every other day to extend the time between refills.

"The Medicare drug card is not a solution to the skyrocketing prices of prescriptions drugs," said U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-9th, of Evanston. "Too many seniors have been priced out of the pharmacy and this drug card won't let them through the front door.

"A Medicare discount card may save them a dollar or two, but that doesn't mean much to a senior who can't afford the prescription in the first place.

"Seniors are getting a taste of what is yet to come under the Medicare drug law, and already, they are fed up," said Schakowsky, who contends that the only way to bring real relief is to repeal and replace the Medicare drug law.