First, the effects of the fund are exactly what we'd hoped for ... it's going
a long way to help tide Paul over. I want to thank all of you who have
participated or will participate. You are making a huge difference.
Now, please let me digress a bit, only for the purposes of illustration. I
recently picked up a couple of new prescriptions. One was for a high-tech
arthritis drug (over $1300 for one month's supply). The other was for a
high-tech asthma inhaler (over $200 for one month's supply). The point? I have
a steady job, am still in my "peak earning years" and, even more to the point,
I have very good insurance coverage. Right now, I don't really have to worry
much at all about anything remotely resembling an additional financial
"burden".
Now I do not know the exact nature of Paul's Medicare Part D prescription
coverage, and am not an expert on the topic, but none of the options sound
particularly appealing. Apparently, the standard benefit (offered by about 10%
of plans) requires payment of a $265 deductible, after which the beneficiary
then pays 25% of the cost of a covered Part D prescription. This initial
coverage has a limit of $2400. Many plans don't make use of this standard
benefit and instead opt for the use of tiered co-payments ... until the
initial coverage is exhausted. Once the initial coverage limit is reached, the
beneficiary has to deal with another deductible, due to which they must pay
the full cost of medicine until total out-of-pocket expenses total $3850 for
the year.
So, no matter the plan / deductible / co-pay, when Paul talks about just one
of his non-chemotherapy prescriptions costing $180 a pop, you know he is
incurring an additional expense that he'd not included in his very careful
budgeting process. And you also know that having to rely solely on Social
Security until he gets back on his feet is not going to allow him much wiggle
room
The point? Again, you are making a huge difference and, again, I wish to thank
you all.
Pete
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