Taxation & Estate Planning

Medicare Part D Wins; The Budget Loses

By Michael D. Bonasera, Esq.

And I’m ok with that.

This good news came out in this post from Mr. Keenan at The Connecticut Elder Law Blog.

Citing this article in the Chicago Tribune, Mr. Keenan says:

Believe it or not, a full year has gone by since the establishment of Medicare Part D (Medicare drug benefit), and after a highly confusing start to the sweeping program, the Chicago Tribune reports in this article that out-of-pocket expenses for patients dropped by 13.1% and prescription use increased by nearly 6%.

The savings was good news for patients in 2006, but it also contributed greatly to a $63.3 billion increase in Medicare spending for the federal government compared to 2005.

This is (imho) what the government should be spending money on - the health care of the poorest among us, so the deficit impact doesn’t worry me that much.

Full post as published by The Ohio Trust & Estate Blog on January 10, 2008 (boomark / email).