“Our APPRISE volunteers worked tirelessly to provide assistance over the phone, in person and at countless statewide enrollment and information meetings,” said Secretary of Aging Nora Dowd Eisenhower. “This deserving recognition belongs to the dedicated volunteers who patiently worked to help older Pennsylvanians and other Medicare beneficiaries understand this complex new benefit.”
“Out of the hundreds of organizations that we worked with for the rollout of Medicare Part D, the APPRISE program is one of about a dozen organizations in Pennsylvania that we felt provided exceptional service to the commonwealth,” said Joseph E. Mieczkowski, area director for the Social Security Administration. “We very much appreciate the work that they did to serve older Pennsylvanians.”
“APPRISE volunteers are still working to get the message out. Every day, they counsel consumers on their health insurance needs, including Governor Rendell’s innovative PACE Plus Medicare initiative,” said Secretary Dowd Eisenhower. “They will be ready for the next round of calls and questions when the enrollment period for 2007 begins in November.”

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“At the same time that the Bush Administration and Congressional leaders are touting the effectiveness of the Medicare drug plans, those plans are quietly raising the prices that they charge,” said Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA. “As a result, seniors will pay more and more — as will America’s taxpayers.”
One of the most significant findings in the report is that, for 19 of the top 20 drugs, changes in the median Part D plan prices were virtually identical to the changes in Average Wholesale Price (AWP) established by the drug manufacturers. “This means,” according to Pollack, “that part d plans are doing essentially nothing to contain the fast-rising prices by the drug industry.”
“When Congress prohibited Medicare from bargaining for cheaper drug prices, it created a huge windfall for the drug companies and unaffordable prices for America’s seniors,” said Pollack. “It is time to correct this and to establish an effective price negotiating system like the VA has achieved.”

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“I’d just like to stress what good news this is for our seniors and the Medicare program,” Leavitt said in announcing the enrollment numbers. “Competition works. The costs are lower and enrollment in Medicare drug coverage is stronger than expected.”
“The moral dilemma is that the people in greatest need are the people still unenrolled,” Hayes said. “Unless we can dramatically increase the number of the poorest Americans in this program, we need to re-examine the best way to meet the primary objective of the law.”

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“I got drilled by it,” Redden said. “The program went into effect Jan. 1 and we didn’t get some of our money until April.”
“So, I’ve got to open a bottle and sit on the other 70 pills that may not be used again,” Redden said. “I’m lucky because I’ve been in the business since 1969. I’m not making payments on the business. It would be especially hard on someone new.”
“It really created a lot of extra paperwork for us,” Neufeld said. “It confused patients. The program is good, but it could have been set up a whole lot better.”
“It’s been among the most difficult things I’ve had to deal with in all my time in the business,” Redden said. “There have been some customers we just couldn’t help.”

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“The new Medicare drug law protects elderly patients with mental illness who would otherwise have had no coverage and face high prescription drug costs, but existing private coverage is substantially better than the standard Part D plan,” said Gibson. “Employers play an important role in providing prescription drug coverage to retirees. Employers weighing a move to Medicare Part D for retiree benefits need to consider more than the initial cost savings, especially when the impacts from potentially decreased utilization are taken into account.”

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“Should we pay for anything that any physician wants to provide to any patient?” asked Steve Phurrough, director of coverage and analysis at the Centers for Medicare & medicaid services in Washington. “I think the answer to that is no.”
“It is a challenge to the industry, and it’s a frustration for the smaller manufacturer,” said Patrick Chelf, a vice president for Bock’s U.S. operations in Minneapolis. “I’m not sure how this technology would make it to the marketplace now.”
“It might be the right thing to do in the grand scheme of things, but it is impossible.”

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“I feel very fortunate that she is able to have this,” said Mrs. Porter, 55, a flight attendant with US Airways. “There’s the comfort of knowing someone is there.”
“We do all the things that adult children would do,” said Cheryl Smith, founder and owner of Kansas City Home Care. “We become their surrogate family.”
“I’ve had one sweet old woman tell a case manager that she always takes the pink pills because that’s her favorite color. Never mind that it’s her dead husband’s pills.”
“A lot of the help care managers give is in knowing the system,” said Norman Hannay, president and owner of elder care Guides in La Jolla, Calif. “A big part of our role is not just providing care, but helping people navigate a confused, fragmented system.”

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“Anytime you open a new facility, CMS or Medicare requires that the facility be inspected to ensure proper care for patients,” said Sherry McDonald, vice president of clinical operations at LifePoint Hospitals. “You have to meet the conditions of participation.”

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