Public Employee Press

Retirees: Don’t join Medicare Part D!

The Bush administration planned to mail out millions of applications for the new Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit by the end of May.

For DC 37 retirees who get those mailings, the best place to file the forms is in the trash.

“Sit tight,” Rosaria R. Esperon, administrator of the DC 37 Health and Security Plan, advised retirees.

“You’re better off with your DC 37 benefit,” said DC 37 Retirees Association President Stuart Leibowitz. He pointed out that the DC 37 drug benefit offers lower out-of-pocket expenses while Medicare Part D has a costly gap in its coverage.

DC 37’s plan is better

• The cost: Participants will pay an estimated $35 a month for the new benefit. They will also have to pay a $250 annual deductible plus a 25 percent co-payment on all purchases from $250 to $2,250.
• The gap: The major drawback of the Medicare Part D benefit is a huge gap in coverage, the “donut hole” between $2,250 and $5,100 where participants will have to pay the complete cost of all purchases. After the $5,100 threshold, Medicare will pick up 95 percent of the cost.
• The choice: DC 37’s benefit has no gap, no monthly fee and no annual deductible.

Throughout 2005, the government, health maintenance organizations and prescription drug providers will be pressing seniors to sign up for Medicare Part D, which is to start in January 2006. Under the program, the elderly will be able to obtain medications through the traditional Medicare program or a private sector health plan.

The Bush administration attempted its typical pattern of deception in publicizing the new benefit. When a draft of the government’s annual “Medicare & You” handbook failed to mention the coverage gap, five House Democrats charged that the manual is “rife with omissions and inaccuracies.”