DeFazio study finds drug card lacking.

Byline: Bob Keefer The Register-Guard

Oregon seniors might as well buy their prescription drugs on the Internet for all the benefit they'll get from the new Medicare prescription drug cards, according to a study released Tuesday by U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio.

The Democratic congressman appeared at town hall meetings in Eugene, Roseburg and Albany to talk about the 6-month-old Medicare prescription drug discount program that has enrolled about 4 million people so far.

The study, performed by the Committee on Government Reform Minority Staff at DeFazio's request, compared prices for the 10 most commonly prescribed drugs, including cholesterol-reducing Lipitor, Fosamax for osteoporosis and the painkiller Celebrex.

Among its findings:

Drug prices through the 32 Medicare discount cards available to seniors in DeFazio's 4th District were "virtually identical" to regular retail prices at Drugstore.com, a reputable Internet discount pharmacy.

The Medicare discount card prices were 61 percent higher than prices for the same drugs paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies, which negotiate massive purchases with drug companies.

The Medicare discount card prices were 58 percent higher than retail drug prices in Canada.

"These drug discount cards were supposed to be one of the better parts of the flawed Medicare prescription drug plan," DeFazio said. "Now we're finding the cards, once seniors work through the confusion, provide little savings or benefit."

The one exception, DeFazio noted, was for the very poor. People making less than $12,500 a year, or $16,800 for couples, are eligible for $600 a year in extra help through the discount card program.

"I recommend anyone who is below the federal poverty level to call Medicare," he said. "You might be somebody who would come out ahead on one of these cards."

An independent analysis by the nonpartisan, nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation found similar results to DeFazio's study - that the Internet and Canadian drugs were comparable or much less expensive.

But the Kaiser study also noted that the drug cards offered savings of a quarter to a third compared with retail prescription prices.

DeFazio, who is seeking re-election in November, was joined at the Oregon meetings by Max Ritchman, executive vice president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. "The Medicare drug card does not provide a meaningful benefit at an affordable price," he told the Eugene meeting. "The only good thing about it is, it's voluntary."

Seniors listening to DeFazio and Ritchman here generally supported their skepticism.

Margie Greenwald, a 72-year-old from Springfield, said she hadn't contacted Medicare about a discount card and wasn't sure she would after hearing the presentation.

"I'm still healthy," she said. "Maybe by the time I need more help there will be a better program."

After the meeting, DeFazio said he still expects Congress to improve prescription drug coverage for seniors. "There will be a nationwide revolt by seniors," he said. "That will bring change."

Medicare chief Mark McClellan said last week that the program is "working to make progress lowering beneficiaries' drug prices and drug costs right now."

He said Medicare will try to make enrollment easier by allowing people to sign up electronically, replacing a more cumbersome process that requires a signature on paper.

Jim Feldkamp, DeFazio's Republican opponent, noted that both of Oregon's senators and the AARP, an association for retirees, endorsed the Medicare prescription drug plan.

Feldkamp said he expects market pressure to drive drug prices down.

"The whole Medicare bill has only been in operation six months," he said. "I don't think DeFazio has given it a fair amount of time."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CAPTION(S):

Rep. Peter DeFazio hears the concerns of seniors regarding Medicare during a town hall meeting in Eugene on Tuesday.