The new prescription "benifits" program for Medicare is set to kick in soon. This is the Congress' fix for seniors so they don't have to pay so much for their prescription drugs. Unfortunately is turns out to be a bigger boon for private insurrance companies than for seniors. Already there are problems cropping up.

Seniors are being told that they have to sign up for a particular plan, insurance company really, that operates in their state. These vary from state to state. Then they get told that the plan that they sign up for may not cover all their prescriptions. The companies will only allow certain drugs in their plan. Then there is the co-pay. The fees range from a few bucks to about $70. So how is this a benefit?

It turns out to be more of a windfall for the insurance companies than a benefit for consumers. AARP has on their website a calculator for how much your prescriptions will cost out of your own pocket. If your prescriptions cost $1000 then you have to pay $857.50. Well any savings at all helps, I guess. At $10,000 The plan covers over half but one still pays a hefty amount, over $4000. Better than nothing, I guess.

Speaking of nothing, millions of Americans have no health insurance what so ever. The cost of going to the hospital has skyrocketted over the last several years. This forces people to make painful choices. Many put off their problems until they actually become emergancies. They have to make a choice between the high cost of healthcare or food or rent...

The US is the only industrialized nation where a baby cannot go into any hospital for free treatment. Other nations, such as Canada have nationalized their healthcare industry. It is time that the US get on the wagon and start offering its citizens free healthcare including prescription drugs. But Congress won't go that far because that means the HMO's and the pharmaceutical industry will see their profits go down. The healthcare industry pumps millions into the private coffers of Congress and other elected officials. And of course they aren't worried because they already have full heathcare coverage. It's time they extended the same benefits to their real constituency.