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Confusion
and worry among Bay Area seniors
Hilda Rosenfeld Bernstein said she's not the only one drowning in confusion thanks to the Republican-led Medicare overhaul signed Monday by President Bush. The bill, more than 1,000 pages long, poses head-scratching questions for some of the Bay Area's nearly 800,000 senior citizens: Is it voluntary? What's with the tax-free health accounts? While the bill was supported by AARP -- which posted a statement on its Web site (www.aarp.org) saying the new law would "provide important prescription drug coverage and financial relief for millions of current and future Medicare beneficiaries'' -- it was difficult to find any senior citizens who were happy about the coming changes in their prescription drug coverage. "This doesn't make any sense," said Bernstein, 76, referring to the historic health care bill that offers, in part, drug benefits to 40 million Americans over the age of 65, at the price tag of $400 billion over 10 years. It will take effect Jan. 1, 2006, and proponents say it will allow senior citizens to make their own choices. But that's not how Bernstein sees it; $400 billion is a big amount, she said, "a big amount that will, in the long run, do little for the country's elderly." "From what I can understand -- and I've read a lot on this -- this is a giveaway to drug manufacturers and HMOs, taking away a tremendous amount of security from older adults," said Bernstein, a retired public health administrator who's lived in San Francisco for more than 20 years. "For the government to have given up its right to negotiate for lower drug prices is a disgrace." Bernstein's sentiment was echoed on Monday by other senior citizens who can still remember July 30, 1965, when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Medicare Act. Those interviewed are highly displeased with the new bill, as are, they said, their elderly neighbors and friends. Among their many questions: Why did the Democrats -- including Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who voted with the Republicans, 54-44, to pass the bill -- support it? "I don't get it. I simply don't get it," said Lucy Sells of Berkeley, a 72-year-old suffering from high cholesterol and high blood pressure. "I'm not at all clear on the voluntary nature of it, and, frankly, I'm not even sure how it will help me." The bill, Sells added, is "clearly the first step toward the privatization of Medicare." Vernon Huffer, 72, agreed. He is saddened by the bill but isn't too surprised that it was passed and signed, all within three weeks. "This administration clearly has an agenda," said the Pittsburg resident. Of the Medicare-approved drug discount cards, which are available next year and can reduce pharmacy costs by 15 percent or more, he said, "that's probably phony." Sandie Wernick is "gravely worried" about how the bill will affect her mother, Sylvia Rothstein, 87. At 9 every morning, like clockwork, Rothstein takes 11 pills -- for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and congestive heart failure, among other conditions. She had a stroke six months ago that badly damaged her memory. She got most of it back with the help of a drug trial at UCSF. The drug, in fact, worked so well that Rothstein is still on it, Wernick said. Health Net, Rothstein's private insurance, helps cover the cost. Wernick isn't entirely sure if the new bill would let her mother, a retired court clerk, keep her Health Net. "My mother is not a rich woman," said Wernick, 55, who runs a marketing company in San Francisco. "I read all these news articles, and I try to make sense of it all, and it's scaring the heck out of us." She paused. "I'm a boomer," added Wernick. "I'm next in line." Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
