Medicare Part D: A fiasco from the start

The Nevada Appeal editorial board has a very interesting opinion that they have published.  Look here to read it.  The following is my comment to their editorial.

Fix it!  I’d rather that they junked the whole mess or at least set it up much like the veterans program where they do bulk purchases and then handle the distribution themselves.

I spent hours researching various plans for my mother with excellent help from the pharmacists at WalGreens.  Then I spent more time with help from an insurance agent filling out the forms well before the January start date.  What happened?  She still doesn’t have a card from the insurance company as they are backed up for weeks if not months.  The insurance agent has tried to help, the pharmacist has tired to help, the state has tried to help, but we are looking at weeks of bungling around by the federal government.  Meanwhile, my mother needs medicine now not months from now!

Turning this whole mess over to congress to fix will take years and just produce another boondoggle.  Witness just how long it took them to produce this horror of a federal government monstrosity.

On a very related topic, now we have the current state AG saying that importing drugs from Canada under a state approved list of pharmacies can’t be done because of the liability to the state.  I find it strange that his predecessor didn’t raise objections in the months between the time the legislation was signed and he resigned to take a federal judicial position.

I looked into online pharmacies and couldn’t find any I would trust.  At least the state Pharmacy Board has the resources to research and examine the Canadian Pharmacies that will be on the website.  I applaud the Pharmacy Board for voting to go ahead with implementation of the law at this time without waiting.