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Locals warily applaud Clinton's Medicare plan President wants government to pay part of drug costs By SUSAN JAY Dick Sawday, 79, agrees with President Clinton's proposal to have Medicare pay a portion of his monthly prescription costs. But he's not sure the government can get it right. "Anything the government gets into, they mess it up," said the retired Medford resident, who spends between $250 and $300 a month out of his own pocket on medication for his lung disease. His sentiment was echoed by other seniors eating lunch Tuesday at the Enid Rankin Center in downtown Medford. Some said President Clinton's idea of having Medicare pay 50 percent of drug costs up to $2,000 annually would help seniors, including themselves. Others said the proposed pharmacy benefit was too little, and that Clinton should aim at regulating the pharmaceutical companies and their prices. Clinton's proposal would have to be approved by Congress and would take effect in 2002. It would be an optional benefit and would apply to the disabled and those 65 and older. Medicare beneficiaries would pay a premium of $24 a month for the program. The benefit would start with the first dollar spent on prescriptions and would not require a deductible. The government would pay half of the first $2,000 of drug costs in a year. Medicare and disability beneficiaries living on incomes below $11,000 a year or couples with incomes below $17,000 would not have to pay the monthly premium to receive the pharmacy benefit. Administration officials estimate the new benefit would cost the government $118 billion over 10 years. They said the monthly premium would rise gradually to $44 and the $2,000 cap would rise to $5,000 by 2008. In that year a beneficiary would pay $528 to have the government pay for up to $2,500 worth of drugs. Medicare recipients already pay a $45.50 monthly premium to cover doctor's office visits. Many also pay an additional $50 to $100 for added HMO coverage. Some receive a pharmacy benefit from their HMOs and some do not. Clinton also proposes that Medicare and disabled recipients pay more toward their Medicare coverage, including a 20 percent co-payment for clinical lab tests and inflationary increases for doctor visits and outpatient treatments. Lee James, another senior eating lunch at the Rankin Center Tuesday, pays about $65 a month for medication and $70 to her Medicare HMO. Her limited retirement is just above the $11,000 benchmark for individuals to receive the pharmacy benefit without having to pay a monthly premium. "I think if we're paying for Medicare they should cover prescriptions at least 50 percent," James said. She said after figuring out the math, the added pharmacy benefit doesn't really help. "That's less than $100 a month," she said of the proposed benefit. She would save about $9 a month, not a big savings if you ask her. Peg Crowley, executive director of the Community Health Center, which treats many seniors and uninsured patients, said she's glad the subject of Medicare benefits and pharmacy costs will at least be debated. "I think that anything that we do to help our seniors to deal with the rising cost of pharmacy drugs is visionary and is to be commended," she said. Often the clinic staff see Medicare patients stretching their dollars by not taking medication they need to stabilize their health. "The effect is they are being under-treated, and that shortens their life," she said. It also can lead to more expensive emergency-room care. Working out the details of such a benefit will be difficult, however, and, like many seniors, Crowley suggested Congress look at the cost of pharmaceuticals. (The Associated Press contributed to this story.) Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA