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A Slap in the Face For Those Who Wanted Failure
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05/18/06 04:09 AM ET
The good news on Medicare Part D keeps rolling in. Monday marked the end of the initial enrollment period, and the results are showing that the program is a huge success. Ninety percent of seniors now have prescription drug coverage - that's 9 in 10 seniors that can better afford the medicines they need to stay well.
As the May 15th deadline approached, seniors were signing up at a rapid pace. More than a million seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D last week alone, and the 1-800-MEDICARE hotline answered 64,000 calls in one day. We owe a great deal of thanks to the community organizations across America that helped educate and enroll seniors. Now, the fruits of their labor are evident. Seniors are saving an average of $1,100 a year on their medications - $3,700 a year for low-income seniors. A recent Chamber of Commerce poll found 85 percent of seniors believe their prescription drug plan is affordable and covers the medicines they need. I've heard numerous success stories from seniors in the 11th District of Georgia. One woman from Cedartown saw her monthly drug bill drop from $1,000 to merely $27 - saving her more than $900 every month. Another couple from Bartow County was reluctant to enroll because they heard the program was confusing and wouldn't save them any money. But once they learned Part D could reduce their bills by $600 a month, they signed up and encouraged all of their friends to do so, too.When you add up these successes, it's clear Medicare Part D is delivering for our seniors. All this good news is a slap in the face to those who tried to scare our seniors away from enrolling. In fact, the success of Medicare Part D is a shining example of what can be accomplished when we put the needs of people over partisan politics.
I remain an enthusiastic supporter of Part D. As a physician, I know our seniors will live healthier lives thanks to affordable drug coverage under Medicare.
As the May 15th deadline approached, seniors were signing up at a rapid pace. More than a million seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D last week alone, and the 1-800-MEDICARE hotline answered 64,000 calls in one day. We owe a great deal of thanks to the community organizations across America that helped educate and enroll seniors. Now, the fruits of their labor are evident. Seniors are saving an average of $1,100 a year on their medications - $3,700 a year for low-income seniors. A recent Chamber of Commerce poll found 85 percent of seniors believe their prescription drug plan is affordable and covers the medicines they need. I've heard numerous success stories from seniors in the 11th District of Georgia. One woman from Cedartown saw her monthly drug bill drop from $1,000 to merely $27 - saving her more than $900 every month. Another couple from Bartow County was reluctant to enroll because they heard the program was confusing and wouldn't save them any money. But once they learned Part D could reduce their bills by $600 a month, they signed up and encouraged all of their friends to do so, too.When you add up these successes, it's clear Medicare Part D is delivering for our seniors. All this good news is a slap in the face to those who tried to scare our seniors away from enrolling. In fact, the success of Medicare Part D is a shining example of what can be accomplished when we put the needs of people over partisan politics.
I remain an enthusiastic supporter of Part D. As a physician, I know our seniors will live healthier lives thanks to affordable drug coverage under Medicare.
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