Elderly worry Medicare prescription drug benefit will not cut costs

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Elderly worry Medicare prescription drug benefit will not cut costs

Associated Press, September 3, 2003

WASHINGTON - More than three-quarters of the elderly worry they will still pay too much for prescription drugs even if Congress enacts new Medicare benefits, says a poll that shows a majority of seniors want Congress to enact a prescription drug benefit anyway.

The poll, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, showed 76 percent of the elderly are concerned they will pay too much for prescription drugs if the Medicare program is revamped to add the benefit, with 52 percent "very worried" their expenses will remain too high.

Underscoring concerns about high drug prices, 57 percent of seniors and 63 percent of the general public said they want Congress to make it easier to buy cheaper drugs from Canada, even after being told about safety risks.

Researchers said the poll reveals a gap between what seniors have been told to expect and what lawmakers - working with a tight budget - can deliver.

"Congress is between a rock and a hard place," said Robert J. Blendon, health policy professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. "Seniors will be critical of Congress if it does not pass a prescription drug bill but unhappy if it passes either of the current bills."

The poll showed that 68 percent of the elderly do not know enough to say whether there are differences between the bills passed in the House and Senate. Lawmakers return to work this week to continue negotiations and reconcile their different bills.

"I think seniors are confused more than anything else right now," said Drew Altman, president and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health research organization.

Although the Republican majority in the House and Senate put the prescription drug bill on the year's agenda, Democrats still hold an edge over the GOP and President Bush on the issue. The poll found 43 percent of seniors and 40 percent of the general public give Democrats credit for handling it better.

The poll of 2,043 people, including 376 seniors, was conducted Aug. 6-12. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points for the general public and plus or minus 5 percentage points for seniors.