For the Most Needy, A Tough Switch

Unbelievably, the new Medicare Part D plan will nicely screw those who most need their medications.

What I’m having a hard time understanding is why more people aren’t up in arms about these changes. “It doesn’t affect me.” Fine, it’s going to affect your parents or grandparents though, and it’s definitely going to affect you eventually.

If this is “progress,” it feels like the “two steps back” kind.

To those administering Medicare’s new Part D drug benefit, Keys is known as a “dual eligible.” Her mental health condition is a substantial enough disability to make her eligible for Medicare. And because her income is too low to support herself and her teenage son, she qualifies for Medicaid, the program for the poor that now covers almost all of her drug expenses.

The nation’s 6.4 million dual eligibles — more than 200,000 of them live in the District, Maryland and Virginia — present a big test for Part D, which goes live on Jan. 1. They are among Medicare’s most vulnerable beneficiaries, and when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, the dependable and robust drug coverage they receive through Medicaid will disappear, replaced by more restrictive and complicated plans.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 23 Dec 2005
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.