15 June 2004

Bush promotes drug cards for elderly

Missouri visit highlights Medicare program

LIBERTY, Mo. - President George W. Bush visited a pharmacy Monday and urged older people in a state crucial to his re-election to sign up for Medicare drug discount cards, saying they will save thousands of dollars on prescriptions.

Bush is trying to counter growing Democratic criticism that the signup process is too confusing and that the 2-week-old program is more of a financial boon for the drug industry than for low-income elderly.

"We've got some problems," but overall "this thing is working," Bush told 500 older people and health care professionals at a community center. The trip was his fifth of the year to Missouri.

To underscore his point, the president accompanied Wanda Blackmore, 74, to a pharmacy where she used her newly issued card to save $17 on a prescription. The cost to her was a mere $1.90. Blackmore suffered an infection after breaking an arm last year. Before receiving the card, she paid about $125 to $150 a month for prescriptions, she said.

But outside the building where Bush spoke, Vesta Frizzell, 65, of Independence, Mo., complained that the discounts don't go far enough. "If they're going to do something with Medicare, let's really do something," she said.

Democrats and some Republicans want to change the law to permit importation of cheaper prescription drugs from Canada and allow the government to negotiate Medicare drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.

Some Democrats want to limit the number of cards available in each region of the country, require card sponsors to keep discounts at least as deep as they were when a client signed up and prohibit them from dropping medicines.

White House spokesman Trent Duffy said, "We do not want to limit choices." Duffy said a greater number of cards will contribute to a competitive environment that will lower prices.

The White House says the cards help the elderly save 15 percent to 30 percent off the price of most brand-name drugs, with even higher discounts for generic medications.

The discount cards are intended as a temporary measure until Medicare begins to pay for prescriptions in 2006.

The presidential campaign of Democrat John Kerry said the drug cards provide "no real relief for America's seniors" and provide "millions of dollars in giveaways to insurance companies."

But Karen Ignagni, president and chief executive of America's Health Insurance Plans, a trade association, said, "When we separate the rhetoric from reality, it becomes very clear the discount cards are an important step toward empowering beneficiaries with choices and savings."

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
06/15/2004

Search Our Canadian Pharmacy Prices

close window