It Ain't Right
Wed., July 6, 09:57 AM
As I was driving to the pharmacist recently, Dave Ross on CBS was expounding upon the doctors who always uncover something wrong with you during yearly checkups. He points out that many doctors who specialize in annual physicals are on the payroll of the very drug companies whose products keep turning up on prescription lists. It’s enough to make you think that you really don’t need to see the doctor as long as you feel good.
That is a fallacy, of course. You can indeed have some disorder that you don’t know about. But what you really need are two things: (1) a real knowledge of how your body works and what – if anything – is wrong with you, and (2) a good written medical history to present. One examiner described my medical history document as looking like a résumé. When doctors find out I prepared it myself, they begin to believe I really know what I’m talking about.
I can even be philosophical about the cost of our prescriptions. I had gotten used to minimum co-pays when I had my expensive insurance (>$1,000/month). At sixty-five, when I became eligible for Medicare, I was no longer eligible for the fancy policy. At all. I think I can handle the meds – even the expensive ones – better than the insurance, but over the last couple of weeks, I’ve paid out about $500.
No doubt you’ve seen ads for “Medicare supplemental insurance” of one kind or another. I’m very wary of these, having handled Husband’s medical costs, through Medicare plus out of pocket, for the last twelve years. (He is even more wary. No HMO’s for him!) Consider this offer. Typical insurers will cover your co-pays. Excuse me; Medicare doesn’t require co-pays. They will cover your generic medications, the ones that are reasonably priced. They do not, however, cover the brand-name drugs, like Fosamax and Arimidex. Not only are those expensive, there is no generic available. I don't see that I have much to gain from the supplemental insurers.
You may also have seen ads for prescription aid, and I’ve looked into those too. What I’ve found out, so far, is that they will help you find out whether you’re eligible for any of the programs in your area that will pay for prescriptions. You can fill out forms indicating whether you are a military veteran or in the lower income brackets.
Connecticut has a good prescription program for senior citizens. When I talked to our pharmacist – who is a good resource, incidentally – he suggested that the first thing we do should be to enroll in ConnSave. Unfortunately, we’re "too rich" for that.
Both Husband and I worked long enough to receive Social Security. (I don’t collect on his record, but on my own.) Just those two sources of income put us out of the running. And it isn’t as if we made that much while we were working.
How did we “squander” all our earnings? I won’t go into the simpler things, like food and clothing and transportation. We educated our kids. We paid for the Cheesebox – in full. (And paid the taxes on it and the cost of heating an all-electric house.) Medicare is now gathering data for prescription assistance for seniors, but I don’t expect anything from it.
It’s not an issue. We won’t be out in the street. But we are luckier than a lot of people. And I can rant about the injustices of medical costs forever.
