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MISSING - Accurate Information about New Medicare Program

May 7, 2004

Twenty-two million women rely on Medicare.[1] They are the majority of Medicare recipients, making up 58 percent of recipients at age 65 and 71 percent at age 85, according to the American Association of University Women (NCRW Member Center) and the Older Women's League.[2] Women also comprise a larger percentage of the poorest Medicare recipients, compared with their male counterparts: 26 percent of women Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 to 84 have incomes below $10,000 (compared to 14 percent of men). When race is taken into account, the numbers are even more alarming: 56 percent of African American women and 58 percent of Latina women on Medicare have incomes less than $10,000.[3] Women are also more likely to have two or more chronic conditions than men (70 compared to 60 percent),[4] and are thus disproportionately affected by the current "misinformation" being circulated by the government with regards to "one of the most complicated government programs ever": the new Medicare drug card program.[5]

Faulty or misleading information about the new Medicare programs can be traced from their inception as part of the 2003 Medicare Bill to current TV ads promoting them. The New York Times reported on March 14, 2004 that testimony the Administration provided in Congress about the cost of the program was misleading.[6] Richard S. Foster, chief actuary of the Medicare program, was told to withhold the actual cost of the program from Congress. Mr. Foster estimated that the cost of the drug benefit program, through 2013, would be in the range of $500 billion to $600 billion - 100 to 200 billion more than President Bush proposed, and the amount that Congress approved in June of 2003. Mr. Foster told the Times, "There was a pattern of withholding information for what I perceived to be political purposes, which I thought was inappropriate."[7]

Now that the legislation is in place, misleading information regarding the drug card program is commonplace:

• A government website that is supposed to allow seniors to compare prices on prescription drugs is confusing and inaccurate. According to Craig L. Fuller of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, "in some cases, the numbers may be too low, but in many cases, the numbers are too high."[8]
• On May 5, 2004, Mark McClellan, the administration's chief Medicare official, told reporters that the new Medicare drug cards "would save seniors 10 percent to 17 percent off the average retail price for name-brand drugs," despite the fact that a study by the House Government Reform Committee that revealed cheaper prices were available from drugstore.com for the 10 most popular brand name drugs[9].
• The toll-free Medicare information number (1-800-MEDICARE) claims that "extra help will also be available for people with lower incomes" under the program. The Center for American Progress reports that the "$600 'transitional' drug benefit that starts in June is not available to the 6.4 million lowest income Medicare beneficiaries who are also enrolled in Medicaid."[10]
• A Medicare TV ad claims that "[y]ou can save with Medicare drug discount cards this June." In reality, "[u]nder the drug benefit, some beneficiaries will not save and in fact will spend more than they do now," due partly to the fact that Medicare is not able to negotiate lower drug prices.[11] In addition, the 12 percent of women on Medicare who have prescription drug coverage through Medicaid[12] will have to enroll in the Medicare drug benefits beginning in 2006, resulting in a higher co-payment in many cases, and complete denial of coverage for some drugs.

UPDATE May 24, 2004:

On May 19, 2004, the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) ruled that the Bush administration engaged in illegal propaganda when it produced misleading news segments about the new Medicare law and distributed them to local television stations.

According the Center for American Progress, “The ruling states the administration concealed the fact that its ‘news’ footage featured actors pretending to be Washington reporters who were ‘paid with federal funds’ to read scripts prepared by the Bush administration.”

To read the full GAO ruling, click here: http://www.gao.gov/decisions/appro/302710.pdf

Endnotes

1. Kaiser Family Foundation. (2001, July 24). Key Facts: Women and Medicare. http://www.kff.org/medicare/1638-index.cfm. [Return to text]

2. American Association of University Women. (2003, January). Women and Medicare Reform. http://www.aauw.org.

Older Women's League. (2000). Medicare: Prescription for Change: Why Women Need a Medicare Drug Benefit. http://www.owl-national.org/. [Return to text]

3. Patricia Neuman. (2001, July 24). Women and Medicare: Making the Connection. Presentation given for Capitol Hill Briefing Series on Women's Health Policy. The Kaiser Family Foundation. http://www.kff.org/docs/sections/women/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=14864. [Return to text]

4. Patricia Neuman. (2001, July 24). Women and Medicare: Making the Connection. Presentation given for Capitol Hill Briefing Series on Women's Health Policy. The Kaiser Family Foundation. http://www.kff.org/docs/sections/women/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=14864. [Return to text]

5. Center for American Progress. (2004, May 4). Health Care: Drug Card Boondoggle. The Progress Report. [Return to text]

6. Robert Pear. (2004, March 14). Democrats Demand Inquiry into Charges by Medicare Officer. New York Times. A1, A27. [Return to text]

7. Qtd in Robert Pear. (2004, March 14). Democrats Demand Inquiry into Charges by Medicare Officer. New York Times. A1, A27. [Return to text]

8. Qtd. in Center for American Progress. (2004, May 4). Health Care: Drug Card Boondoggle. The Progress Report. [Return to text]

9. Center for American Progress. (2004, May 6). Under the Radar: Administration Refuses to Face Facts on Drug Cards. The Progress Report. [Return to text]

10. Center for American Progress. (2004, February 5). Medicare Political Advertising: Claim v. Fact. http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=27153. [Return to text]

11. Center for American Progress. (2004, February 5). Medicare Political Advertising: Claim v. Fact. http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=27153. [Return to text]

12. Patricia Neuman. (2001, July 24). Women and Medicare: Making the Connection. Presentation given for Capitol Hill Briefing Series on Women's Health Policy. The Kaiser Family Foundation. http://www.kff.org/docs/sections/women/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=14864. [Return to text]

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