Song in my head: They had one thing in common.... they were good in bed..... She'd say..Faster..faster...... The lights are turnin' red." ...The Eagles


Alter-Abled News

In case you're wondering, the Medicare drug plan still is giving me a hard time dispensing my medications. I've had problems getting my migraine meds the last 2 times...it's such a mess.......What pisses me off is my plan doesn't cover all my meds either. These are paid out of pocket. Bush calls the drug plan "the greatest advance in health care for seniors since the founding of Medicare" in 1965." Well, I'm not the only one complaining. The Chairman of Pharmacists for Bush is reperesenting pharmacists who are not getting paid back in a timely matter. NYT Link

Pharmacists say they have been losing money under Medicare's new prescription drug benefit, and they have taken their concerns to the White House, forcing the administration to confront political problems caused by the rocky start of the program.

Bill C. Pittman arranged a meeting with the White House on behalf of Texas pharmacists.
In a meeting last week with Karl Rove, the president's senior adviser, the druggists said many independent pharmacies might have to shut their doors because they were not being paid adequately or promptly under Medicare. In the last two months, they said, pharmacists have given away millions of dollars' worth of medications for which Medicare drug plans should have paid.

The pharmacists who visited the White House were all from Texas. Several have close ties to Mr. Rove and President Bush. But their concerns are shared by retail pharmacists across the country, who said that Medicare drug plans were paying them less than it cost to fill prescriptions for the beneficiaries.

Bill C. Pittman, a former president of the Texas State Board of Pharmacy who is chairman of Pharmacists for Bush, a political fund-raising group, arranged the meeting, held on Monday at the White House.

Richard E. Beck, one of the Texas pharmacists who met with Mr. Rove, said, "Pharmacies are losing money on Medicare." Slow payment by Medicare drug plans has caused cash-flow problems for many pharmacies, he said.

Mr. Pittman said he told Mr. Rove and other officials: "If pharmacists don't receive immediate relief, some will go broke. Others are hurting so bad that they will choose not to participate in Medicare and Medicaid."

Mr. Bush has described the drug benefit as "the greatest advance in health care for seniors since the founding of Medicare" in 1965. Administration officials said beneficiaries were saving large amounts of money because prescription drug plans had negotiated deep discounts with drug makers and pharmacies.