Medicare drug coverage is costing most seniors more

Most seniors in Medicare’s prescription-drug program are paying considerably higher monthly premiums for coverage this year, according to a study to be released today. Those in the 10 largest plans — which account for nearly three-fourths of seniors signed up for drug coverage — are paying an average of $26.39 a month, or 16% more than last year, according to the analysis by Avalere Health, an information company serving the healthcare industry.

The rise is modest in dollar terms, and some of the top plans actually lowered their premiums for 2008. But on average, the percentage increase for the drug plan is greater than the change in Medicare’s Part B premium for outpatient care, which rose only 3% in 2008.

Medicare officials say the prescription program, with more than 25 million beneficiaries, is a successful example of how private companies can improve the delivery of government benefits. They point out that in many cases, monthly premiums are lower than estimated at the program’s inception, and they credit that to competition among private plans.  But independent experts say the initial estimates may have been too high for several reasons, including the fact that the government had no previous experience with such a program.

Source and more – Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-medicare5-2008jun05,0,1486824.story