Drug card plan baffles East Valley seniors

[Champ]

By Jennifer Ryan, Tribune
East Valley Tribune

Updated: 2:05 p.m. ET May 10, 2004May 10 - Doors swung open as seniors with their walkers, wheelchairs and canes left a meeting room at the Park Regency retirement community shaking their heads.

They had just learned about the new Medicare prescription drug discount card.

"The whole thing is crazy," said Harriet Hoffman, a Park Regency resident who attended the Thursday gathering hosted by AARP. "I just can't cope with it. It's just too hard to make a change."

The frustration, echoed among many senior citizens looking for relief from the high cost of medicines, is getting the new Medicare drug discount card program off to a rocky start in the East Valley.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4946002/

[aquart]

1. Well, that's because it's a stupid idea.

Asking seniors with a myriad of physical problems to wade thru comparison and selection and gambling which card might be better when the fact is they are all worthless....

It's a scam to funnel money to drug companies and leave the seniors out in the cold again.

And the Republicans thought this would get them the senior vote? What are they on?

[ed murrow]

2. it's an option.

I'm going to have to disagree with you here. Although change is scary for a lot of seniors, there are some really good options now available. aarp has been holding seminars all around the country as well as supplying a lot of valuable information to seniors on their website. It's another option, and since when was another option a bad thing?

It is some work to figure the best plan, but in the end I think it will really benefit seniors.