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| What`s up, Doc? |
January 30, 2004 |
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Dear Friends,
 The Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Richard Carmona, came to Albuquerque last Thursday to visit seniors and answer questions about the new prescription drug benefit in Medicare.
The program has lots of parts and we will be working to get people information on it over the next year. We`ll ask other people, like Dr. Carmona, to come visit and help get people answers. But there are some basics that we can start from.
The Act we passed and that the President signed into law adds a voluntary prescription drug benefit to Medicare that will be available to all seniors.
The plans will have a low monthly premium of about $35 and, after a $250 deductible, will pay 75 percent of the cost of prescription drugs up to $2,250 per year. It also includes coverage to pay 95 percent of catastrophic drug costs after $3,600 in out-of-pocket spending.
More than 100,000 low income seniors in New Mexico will get medicine with only a $1 to $5 co-pay, with reduced or no premiums. A family of two with an income below $16,362 will pay no premiums and no deductible.
The program directly tackles the problem of employers dropping health care benefits for their retired employees by giving support and incentives for employers to keep those plans.
The plan helps reduce drug costs by speeding up the introduction of generics into the market.
The full plan goes into full effect in 2006, but there will be immediate relief with prescription drug discount cards this spring.
The new law may not be perfect, but it does represent progress because it adds a voluntary prescription drug benefit to Medicare.
Wish you were here,
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