REALITY GOES OFF-MESSAGE:

Medicare discount cards living up to their hype: A study found that Medicare drug discount cards deliver on promised savings, but confusion is keeping enrollment down. (MARK SHERMAN, 7/29/04, Associated Press)

Buttressing Bush administration assertions, the new Medicare drug discount cards offer savings off retail prescription prices, an independent analysis released Wednesday said. [...]

The administration has said Medicare beneficiaries with no drug insurance would save an average of 25 percent off their drug bills because the privately marketed cards would use bulk purchasing power to negotiate discounts.

The analysis said the best prices for 10 popular medicines, including cholesterol-reducing Lipitor, Fosamax for osteoporosis and the painkiller Celebrex, were nearly 25 percent less than the retail price when purchased at a pharmacy.

Using mail-order services, the drug cards were up to a third cheaper than the retail pharmacy prices.

Hey, c'mon, don't these guys know that President Bush can never be telling the truth and never actually help people?

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 29, 2004 10:18 AM