Navigation Links
Cha-Ching! Seniors Enrolled in Medicare Prescription Drug Plans Might Be in for Sticker Shock Next Year
Date:11/9/2007

nvision RxPlus Gold of New York, which increased total premium and drug costs 60 percent(4) - or $1,915 - from January 2007 to January 2008. This plan also had the highest increases in Florida and California, and Texas (along with Blue MedicareRx Standard), and was second only to Blue MedicareRx Standard in Illinois.

"It is so important to take the time and shop among plans, and use the Medicare website (http://www.Medicare.gov) to check your drug costs" Vaughan said, adding that CU found up to a $2,700 difference between the lowest and highest cost plan within a state for the five drugs sampled. "A plan that was a bargain this year may be the exact opposite next year. Beneficiaries have just a few weeks during open enrollment to avoid being stuck with a high cost plan in 2008."

While the majority of plans CU sampled increased overall costs, some plans kept costs low, or even reduced their costs from year to year.

In 2007, HealthSpring Prescription Drug Plan-Reg 22 had the fifth lowest overall drug costs of any plan in Texas for the five sampled drugs and premiums, and a 2008 cost increase of as little as 3 percent(5). This now makes it the least expensive plan in the state for the five drugs (in New York, Illinois and California the least expensive plans for these five drugs are also run by HealthSpring).

"It is essential that beneficiaries look carefully on the Medicare website and in the 'Medicare and You Handbook' for plans with prices that start low and stay low," Vaughan said.

Consumers Union also reminds beneficiaries that many could benefit by reviewing their drug options with their doctors and considering effective, lower-cost alternatives. Savings from moving to a generic or lower cost brand alternative might more than cover their Part D premiums. Information on the safest, most effective drugs is available, free, on the CU website,

SOURCE Consumers Union
Copyright©2007 PR Newswire.
All rights reserved

Page: 1 2 3 4

Related medicine news :

1. Oral Health a Matter of Life and Death for Seniors
2. GAO Report Confirms: Medicare Underpays for Anesthesia Services; Nurse Anesthetists Assure Seniors Access to Safe Anesthesia Care
3. Seniors Need a Safety Plan in Face of Disasters
4. High Co-Pays Cause Seniors to Go Without Meds
5. Study finds drug spending caps cause some seniors to quit taking key medicines
6. Medicare Spending Caps Cause Seniors to Stop Meds
7. New Report: Dangerous Drug Side Effects and Deaths Doubled Since 1998... Seniors Hit Hardest
8. Medicare Cuts to Physicians Will Harm Washington Seniors
9. Obesity Wont Affect Seniors Memory
10. Study finds drug spending caps cause some seniors to quit taking key medicines
11. New York Times Exposes Harm to Seniors After Private Equity Buyouts of Nursing Homes

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:11/25/2009)...TORONTO,Nov.25/PRNewswire/-SentinelleMedicalInc.,a...alizationsoftwarelaunchesasuiteofnewleadingedgecli...areplatformatthisyear,sRadiologicalSocietyofNorthA...09(Booth5800,HallA).Theapplicationsleveragetheuniq...zedMRIimagingcoilsandsupportmultipleimagingmodalit...
(Date:11/25/2009)... BroadPoliticalEndorsements,Business,andPressJoinE...ire-USNewswire/--Onceagain,theNationalBipolarFound...nendorsingtheir"Safe,tilStable"program,whichisnowb...rbipolardisorder.Today,theNationalBipolarFoundatio...ssPriorityMailfromtheLt.GovernorofLouisianaMitchLa...
(Date:11/25/2009)...y follow-up period was too short to draw definite ..., Nov. 25 (HealthDay News) -- In diabetic patients...be no difference in outcomes at one year whether p... stenting, British researchers report. , Bypass...tic patients with coronary artery disease. However...
(Date:11/25/2009)...positive note, CDC sees few signs of trouble with ...5 (HealthDay News) -- The ongoing H1N1 swine flu p... pneumonias among younger patients, a U.S. health ...crease in serious pneumococcal infections around t...tional Center for Immunization and Respiratory Dis...
(Date:11/25/2009)... used to treat colorectal cancer also can reverse ...irst-line therapy for the disease, researchers at ...eek. , Mntrier,s disease causes thickening of the... vomiting, as well as anemia and swelling in the f...t increased risk for gastric cancer. Previously, t...
Breaking Medicine News(10 mins):Health News:Sentinelle Medical Launches Aegis Suite of Oncology 4D Visualization Software with PureWeb(TM) Technology 2Health News:Sentinelle Medical Launches Aegis Suite of Oncology 4D Visualization Software with PureWeb(TM) Technology 3Health News:First Time-Door is Open for Family Discussion of Bipolar Disorder 2Health News:First Time-Door is Open for Family Discussion of Bipolar Disorder 3Health News:Stenting May Equal Bypass for Diabetic Heart Patients 2Health News:Stenting May Equal Bypass for Diabetic Heart Patients 3Health News:Swine Flu Tied to Rise in Pneumonias Among Young 2Health News:Swine Flu Tied to Rise in Pneumonias Among Young 3Health News:Swine Flu Tied to Rise in Pneumonias Among Young 4Health News:Vanderbilt scientists report first effective medical therapy for rare stomach disorder 2
..., Ill., July 11 Caution! If read in its,entirety,...n sick?",(published by AuthorHouse -- http://www....ects: surprise, anger, disbelief and even amusemen...y Do Drugs Cost So Much? and why are we so darn si...
... Allsup outlines missteps that c..., Belleville, Ill. (Vocus)...know what it means to wait. , , , , ,They wait med...ing for Social Security Disability Insurance (SS...
...he-board excellence on U.S. News & World Report ra...,ranking of American hospitals again places the Un...among the country,s finest, with a rank of,13th ov...online today, mark the 13th year in a row that U-M...
...NING PURPOSES ONLY, HOLLYWOOD, Calif., July 10 G...oundation President and CEO Lisa Paulsen, MPAA,Cha...n Services Secretary,Kim Belshe will announce a ma...inment and health leaders. EIF brought,together Pa...
...ding preventive treatment for malaria, given once ...fection and anaemia among schoolchildren, and sign...ing to new research published today in the Lancet...edged. By the time an African child enters school ...
...ON, July 10 The Department of,Justice announced t...d,N.Y., has entered into a settlement agreement wi...ed by parents of children with diabetes who were,t...l or camp on a case-by-case basis, and will make r...
Other Medicine News:Health News:'Why Do Drugs Cost So Much? and why are we so darn sick?': New Book Reveals Inner Workings of Big Pharma, Asks Hard Questions About Our Health 2Health News:Seven Mistakes to Avoid When Seeking Social Security Disability Benefits 2Health News:Seven Mistakes to Avoid When Seeking Social Security Disability Benefits 3Health News:Seven Mistakes to Avoid When Seeking Social Security Disability Benefits 4Health News:Seven Mistakes to Avoid When Seeking Social Security Disability Benefits 5Health News:Seven Mistakes to Avoid When Seeking Social Security Disability Benefits 6Health News:Once Again Among the Nation's Finest: U-M Hospitals & Health Centers Rank 13th in the U.S. 2Health News:Once Again Among the Nation's Finest: U-M Hospitals & Health Centers Rank 13th in the U.S. 3Health News:Malaria prevention reduces anemia and improves educational potential in Kenyan schoolchildren 2Health News:Malaria prevention reduces anemia and improves educational potential in Kenyan schoolchildren 3Health News:Long Island, New York School Agrees To Admit Students With Diabetes 2
(Date:11/25/2009)...portlinker.comannouncesthatanewmarketresearchrepor...-GlobalTrends ,, http://www.reportlinker.com..., Widespreadavailabilityofgenericdrugs,emergence...acceleratedthepaceofgrowthinthepainmanagementmarke...uetoshapedemandforservices,drugsanddevices.Themark...
(Date:11/25/2009)...ewswire/-- ChemoCentryx,Inc.,announcedtodaythatPh...ProspectiveRandomizedOralTherapyEvaluationinCrohn,...swithmoderate-to-severeCrohn,sdiseasedemonstratedc...profile.Thestudydemonstratedevidenceofclinicaleffi...pointdecreaseintheCrohn,sDiseaseActivityIndex(CDAI...
(Date:11/24/2009)...-FirstCall/--QuestDiagnosticsIncorporated(NYSE: DG...nformationandservices,announcedthatitisscheduledto...ceinNewYorkCity.ThepresentationisscheduledforWedne...ringtheconference,thecompanywillreaffirmits2009gui...metoexceed18%ofrevenues,anddilutedearningspershare...
Breaking Medicine Technology:Reportlinker Adds Pain Management - Global Trends 2Reportlinker Adds Pain Management - Global Trends 3Reportlinker Adds Pain Management - Global Trends 4Reportlinker Adds Pain Management - Global Trends 5ChemoCentryx Reports Positive PROTECT-1 Study Results for Traficet-EN(TM) at the GASTRO 2009 UEGW/WCOG Conference 2ChemoCentryx Reports Positive PROTECT-1 Study Results for Traficet-EN(TM) at the GASTRO 2009 UEGW/WCOG Conference 3ChemoCentryx Reports Positive PROTECT-1 Study Results for Traficet-EN(TM) at the GASTRO 2009 UEGW/WCOG Conference 4ChemoCentryx Reports Positive PROTECT-1 Study Results for Traficet-EN(TM) at the GASTRO 2009 UEGW/WCOG Conference 5Quest Diagnostics To Speak At The 21st Annual Piper Jaffray Healthcare Conference 2Heritage Provider Network and CEO Dr Richard Merkin Featured on Fox News 54812 1Heritage Provider Network and CEO Dr Richard Merkin Featured on Fox News 54812 2Heritage Provider Network and CEO Dr Richard Merkin Featured on Fox News 54812 3Milk is safe even encouraged for some children after treatment for milk allergy 54808 1Milk is safe even encouraged for some children after treatment for milk allergy 54808 2GENova names Aaron Whiteman as CEO 54805 1GENova names Aaron Whiteman as CEO 54805 2GENova names Aaron Whiteman as CEO 54805 3
...(anastrozole) over tamoxifen at preventing all for...me - even four years after ...ta from ATAC*, one of the,world,s largest and long...arly breast cancer, reinforce that anastrozole can.... For the first time, anastrozole has been,shown t...
...ec. 18 Epeius Biotechnologies,Corporation announc... of,their contemporaries in 2007, a truly remarkab...ip, and gonzo journalism. It was a year in,which a...Gene Delivery" was,held at the prestigious Cold Sp... Watson presides, or shall we say presided. The me...
Other Medicine Technology:Video: New Results From One of the World's Largest Breast Cancer Trials Herald Hope for Thousands of Women 2Video: New Results From One of the World's Largest Breast Cancer Trials Herald Hope for Thousands of Women 3Video: New Results From One of the World's Largest Breast Cancer Trials Herald Hope for Thousands of Women 4Video: New Results From One of the World's Largest Breast Cancer Trials Herald Hope for Thousands of Women 5Epeius Biotechnologies Applauds the Belated Scholarship of Their Academic Contemporaries in 2007, As Targeted Gene Therapy Comes of Age in Clinical Medicine 2Epeius Biotechnologies Applauds the Belated Scholarship of Their Academic Contemporaries in 2007, As Targeted Gene Therapy Comes of Age in Clinical Medicine 3
Lipid Control Level 3
Lipid Control Level 1
Lipoprotein (a) Calibrator Series
Valproic Acid
Medicine Products: