Part D is the prescription drug benefit put into place as part of the Medicare Modernization and Improvement Act of 2003. Assessments of the program’s overall effectiveness don’t usually paint a very flattering picture of what the impact has been. Hopes for an improvement in Part D are slowly sinking, according to a review done by Families, USA.

The analysis by Families USA, a national organization for health care consumers, also says that drug premiums continue to rise far faster than the cost of living. A review of Medicare Part D prescription drug plans for 2008 reveals a startling fact, according to Families USA. It is now impossible for beneficiaries to purchase comprehensive protection for the “doughnut hole,” the yawning gap in Part D coverage where Medicare offers no assistance in paying for prescription drugs.

The premiums for stand-alone prescription drug plans will increase by 21 percent for the average beneficiary, but some of the largest plans will raise premiums by much more. Two examples:

• United HealthCare, associated with AARP and the biggest provider of Part D plans, is raising premiums for its popular “Medicare Rx AARP Plan-Saver” by an average of 89 percent.
• Humana, the second largest part D company, is increasing the premium for its most popular plan, “Humana PDP Standard,” by 69 percent.

“Over the two years since Medicare Part D began, premiums for the Humana PDP Standard in the upper Midwest have climbed by an astounding 1,300 percent!” said Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA. “This is a terrible failure in the current Medicare program and a clear sign that prescription drugs costs continue to be out of control in this nation.”

Medicare beneficiaries are facing an annual choice of drug plans, an enrollment window that runs from November 15 through December 31, and Pollack urged enrollees, especially low-income beneficiaries, to look carefully at their current plans, checking costs and ensuring that those plans will continue to offer the drugs they need.

The Families USA analysis, “Buyer Beware: Higher Costs, More Confusion for the 2008 Part D Enrollment Season,” outlines pitfalls and problems in some 2008 plans and discusses the deficiencies in doughnut hole coverage. The analysis is available online at www.familiesusa.org.