Re: Glitch inflates Medicare drug costs

On 1 Dec 2005 12:10:14 -0800, "AndyS" <andysharpe@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

Yeah I called my insurance carrier today. Real nice people... real
sweet young lady, spent about a half hour with me trying to answer my
questions.

I was asking questions that were just what Andy is talking about
here,,, and she was trying her best to find the information. And we
both finally agreed to the substance of Andy's comments... Didn't use
his choice of words, of course, but it's what it did boil down to.

***



>Andy comments:
>
> Of course the prices are moving around. This has been the subject
>of many postings I have made about the hidden costs of the drugs
>that the various plans do not talk about......
>
> The key problem is that any insurance company can charge any
>price they want for any drug. These costs impact the Medicare
>account which the government keeps track of in adding up to
>the $2250 break point, but are often not known to the customer until
>the 9th month, when they are suddenly faced with a big charge for
>medicine that they were getting for $20 or $30 a month up until
>that time....
>
> The solution is to put price controls on drugs..... Naturally, the
>
>pharmaceutical companies and the insurance companies don't want
>this......
>
> Hell, they can charge your Medicare account $1000 for a bottle of
>aspirin if they want to, and you would think that, since it is generic,
>you
>are getting it free...... and it will bite you in the ass after the
>second bottle.
>
> Andy

.