Medicare relief coming soon with drug discount cards

Doctors support the effort but worry about the formularies.

By Markian Hawryluk, AMNews staff. March 8, 2004.

Washington -- The outpatient prescription drug benefit established by last year's Medicare reform bill does not kick in until 2006, but seniors could see the initial impact of the effort to make medications more affordable this spring.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced in February that 106 organizations had applied to offer drug discount cards to Medicare beneficiaries. The agency expects to announce its endorsed drug card sponsors in April, and beneficiaries will be able to enroll in the card programs by early May.

"This is an enthusiastic response by companies to sponsor money-saving drug discount cards for Medicare beneficiaries," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. "These cards will provide beneficiaries the confidence of a Medicare-approved product, and the savings will be especially important for low-income seniors and people with disabilities."

Beneficiaries will be able to sign up with only one of the Medicare-endorsed discount cards and can expect discounts of 10% to 25% off retail prices, CMS said.

The American Medical Association expressed support for discount drug cards but remained concerned about whether the cards would have restrictive formularies. The cards must offer discounts for at least one product in each therapeutic category set out by CMS. In a letter to the agency, AMA Executive Vice President Michael Maves, MD, warned that some sponsors could use that minimum standard as a ceiling.