Durbin Says HHS Pulling Bait and Switch on America's Seniors; Agency not Doing Enough to Warn Seniors About Changing Drug Prices
DURBIN SAYS HHS PULLING BAIT AND SWITCH ON AMERICA'S SENIORS; AGENCY NOT DOING ENOUGH TO WARN SENIORS ABOUT CHANGING DRUG PRICES
After surveying the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder website and finding major price fluctuations, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is pulling a bait and switch on America's seniors. Durbin called on HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt to post a warning on the website informing seniors that drug plan prices are subject to change.
In a letter to Secretary Leavitt, Durbin wrote: "Simply calling the figure related to a particular plan an estimate' is not enough. It doesn't warn seniors about the continued shift in prices. Many seniors have already chosen their plans and are not aware that the prices may have increased or decreased."
Durbin pointed to Healthspring, a drug plan offered to Medicare beneficiaries that rose 78 percent from December 7, 2005 to December 19, 2005.
"Your spokesperson responded to media inquiries sparked by my original letter by saying the price changes were the result of a computer logic error' that had been repaired," Durbin continued. "However, the prices on the website continue to change, and the law allows plans to vary their prices on a weekly basis."
"Many seniors have already chosen their plans and are not aware that the prices may have increased or decreased," Durbin noted. He said that a constituent he described in his original letter to Leavitt has seen her total cost increase more than $400.
"She is taking Arthrotec, Fosamax, K-Tabs, Lasix, Prevacid, and Trental," Durbin continued. "On November 30, 2005, the Medicare Plan Finder showed that Medicare Rx Rewards Premier priced her drugs at an estimated annual cost of $2,643. My staff re-checked the same drug list on the Plan Finder yesterday, December 19, 2005, and found the same plan was estimated to have an annual cost of $3,120 - an increase of $477. That's after the increase of $1,152 from November 17 to November 22, which I wrote about in my last letter."
"The CMS website is currently doing a poor job informing seniors of price changes. Nowhere does it explain that costs within a plan can change I urge you to remedy this situation before the benefit begins so seniors understand what they may be paying," Durbin concluded in his letter to Secretary Leavitt.
The full text of the Durbin's letter to Secretary Leavitt appears below:
December 20, 2005
The Honorable Michael Leavitt
Department of Health and Human Services
Hubert Humphrey Building, Room 416G
200 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20201
Dear Secretary Leavitt:
I wrote to you on November 28, 2005 to urge you to place a prominent notice on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) website informing Medicare beneficiaries that the drug prices quoted on the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder can change. Seniors should be informed that they should not expect the prices they find on the website to be the prices they will pay throughout the year, unless they choose a plan with co-payments rather than coinsurance, and all their drugs are on the formulary.
Your spokesperson responded to media inquiries sparked by my original letter by saying the price changes were the result of a "computer logic error" that had been repaired. However, the prices on the website continue to change, and the law allows plans to vary their prices on a weekly basis. Therefore, I once again urge you to place a prominent notice on your website informing seniors that the prices are changing and will continue to change. Simply calling the figure related to a particular plan an "estimate" is not enough. It doesn't warn seniors about the continued shift in prices. Many seniors have already chosen their plans and are not aware that the prices may have increased or decreased.
My staff has been checking the drug prices applicable to the constituent I originally wrote to you about, and her total costs have increased more than $400 since the date of my last letter. She is taking Arthrotec, Fosamax, K-Tabs, Lasix, Prevacid, and Trental. On November 30 , 2005, the Medicare Plan Finder showed that Medicare Rx Rewards Premier priced her drugs at an estimated annual cost of $2,643. My staff re-checked the same drug list on the Plan Finder yesterday, December 19, 2005, and found the same plan was estimated to have an annual cost of $3,120 - an increase of $477. That's after the increase of $1,152 from November 17 to November 22, which I wrote about in my last letter.
Another plan, Healthspring, rose 78 percent from December 7, 2005 to December 19, 2005. Even when plan prices decrease, seniors need to know. What if they rejected a plan one week because it was too expensive, but it became the best deal for them the next week? (And would that still be their best deal next year?)
The CMS website is currently doing a poor job informing seniors of price changes. Nowhere does it explain that costs within a plan can change. Under the heading "How Much Will the Plans Cost?" you should point out the possibility of price fluctuations, but instead the Plan Finder says nothing on the subject and simply explains the structure of the benefit. I urge you to remedy this situation before the benefit begins so seniors understand what they may be paying.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senate
http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=250021&&