An alarming majority of pharmacists (91%) and doctors (92%) believe “the law is too complicated with the majority in both professions reporting that Medicare beneficiaries who they see are encountering problems in getting their medications, sometimes with serious consequences.”
Here are some of the surveys results:
- Eight in 10 pharmacists (81%) say that they have had customers who had problems getting their prescriptions. One in five (19%) say such problems affected “most” of their customers in Medicare drug plans.
- Two in three pharmacists (67%) say they had customers leave the pharmacy without a medication because the prescribed drug was not on their Medicare drug plan’s formulary.
- Almost six in 10 pharmacists (58%) say they had customers pay out-of-pocket for their drugs because they could not verify their enrollment in a Medicare drug plan. Nearly half of pharmacists (49%) say they had customers leave without a prescription because they could not afford the co-pay charged under the Medicare drug plan.
- Nearly half of pharmacists (45%) who serve “dually eligible” beneficiaries, who were previously getting coverage through state Medicaid programs, say that these customers experienced more problems filling their prescriptions than other Medicare customers.
- Among doctors with patients in Medicare drug plans, 59% say that they have had patients who experienced problems getting their prescriptions, with 15% saying “most” of their patients in Medicare drug plans had such problems. One in 10 (10%) say that they had a patient who suffered a “serious medical consequence” as a result of such problems.
I encourage you the read the report or news release for more information about the survey results.
Have you found the Medicare Part D program to be confusing or a hindrance to your health? Let us know your experiences and where you see the breakdown and need for changes.
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