HHS   "Unaware" of Problems

Senator Charles Schumer:  "He (Leavitt) seemed incredulous when I told him, but said he wasn't really aware of the problems...I was surprised by that."

Specific Examples of People Denied Rx's  Putting a name and a face to the problem.

Senators  Levin and Durbin Quoted and more info about the drug companies that are ending their free rx's to those who qualify.  

DSiary contains link to quote  from Forbes Magazine re:  McClellan stating that everything is under control last year.

Robert Hayes, president of the Medicare Rights Center, states that he had a discussion with Mark McClellan, (Administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) EARLY LAST YEAR:

"I was sitting in McClellan's office and I said, 'Look, even if you get this transition 99 percent right for the people losing Medicaid coverage, you're still going to have 64,000 people without drug coverage come Jan. 1.' And [McClellan] said 'No, we have everything under control.' "

The  Early Republican Response To The Problems

Bush  Ignores Medicare D In SOTU and Advocates HSA's.

People w/Low Incomes Specified As the Cause of The Problem W/Medicare D, as opposed to acccepting responsibility.

Mike Rogers R-MI Blamed For Medicare D contains link to an Op-Ed that states

A drug benefit targeted solely to the neediest...could be in operation now, had Congress not, instead, endorsed the existing, flawed law -thanks in large measure to mid-Michigan Congressmen Dave Camp, Vern Ehlers and Mike Rogers.

Single Payer Health Care System Needed.

Another Medicare D Suprise details the ridiculously low $ limits on outpatient services that are not provided in a hospital.

CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS

Waxman:  Medicare Overhaul?

Waxman also stated that:  "corruption, incompetence, and an ideology that favors private profits over public programs all played a role.

Congress Opens Hearings Into Medicare D

FEBRUARY'S DIARIES
Confusion and Reaction From  
Other States re:  Litigation

Beneficiary Stability And Political Liability  After not being able to get all of his rx's a man w/mental illness flushed all of his rx's down the toilet.  The following is a reaction to that incident.

Craig Knoll, the executive director of Threshold Services in Silver Spring,

"I'm saying it's the federal government's fault he couldn't get his meds. It's not surprising that people with mental illness respond in ways that people with mental illness respond."

Windfall Profits for RX Companies

Humana  Allegedly Violated Federal Regulations

Humana's practice of paying higher commissions for Medicare Advantage plans "is violating CMS regulations."

Medicare D Compared To Hurricane Katrina

Sen. Kent Conrad said that the implementation of the benefit is a "fiasco, botched, bungled. There has been no greater government failure since Katrina."

Medicare D:  Conflicting Numbers and Government Subsidies

Prescription Costs Increase Under Medicare D

RX's Purchased From Canadian Pharmacies Seized

Increased enforcement -- after years of looking the other way -- would be irresponsible, according to Andy Troszok, president of the Canadian International Pharmacy Assn.  He further stated that

"It's an issue of patient safety...We're not talking about Viagra and narcotics abuse. We are talking about people with breast cancer, heart disease and diabetes and are established on medication. Who is going to be liable for these people going off medical regimens and suffering or even dying?"

Medicare D and Lobbying ?'s...Medicare D was passed by the use of

strong-arm tactics to push it through the House by pharmaceutical and health care companies showering campaign gifts on key lawmakers, and cozy arrangements for those who wrote the bill and then departed for lucrative jobs as lobbyists.