Screw You, Oldies!

Compassionate Conservatism and the big empty hole in its middle:

This is the "doughnut hole" in the new Medicare drug benefit that began in January, and advocates for seniors say there is nothing sweet about it.

…A few more-expensive plans have no doughnut hole, and low-income beneficiaries can receive extra help from Medicare that eliminates the gap. Under the standard plan, however, the government picks up the bulk of drug costs only until the beneficiary and the government together have spent $2,250 for the year. At that point, beneficiaries must pay 100 percent of costs until they have spent a total of $3,600 of their own money. Then the federal subsidy resumes, paying 95 percent of any additional expenses.

Beneficiaries must continue to pay premiums averaging $24 a month, even in months when they are on their own.

What a great fucking idea this was, eh? One of the women interviewed for the story, a 65-year-old breast cancer survivor, saw her payments for three-month supplies of five medications jump from $58 to $1,294. She put $506 on her credit card to pay for her medications to treat high cholesterol, diabetes, and osteoporosis, is hoping to get free samples of eye drops for her glaucoma, and has stopping taking the drug which is part of the treatment for her breast cancer. She hopes to go back on it once she’s through the donut hole.

Why not just stick her on an iceberg and send her out to sea? “Bon voyage, Granny! Good luck and Godspeed!”

Culture of life, my ass.