MEDICARE  (CONT)

more often, and, most frightening of all, to die sooner. In fact, the annual mortality rate for those with capped benefits is 22 percent higher than it is for those without such a cap.

If the prospect of more sick and dying senior and disabled citizens isn't enough to scare lawmakers into changing the existing program, perhaps this will put them over the edge: ER visits and long-term hospital care for those who don't take their prescribed medications are already subsidized by Medicare and they're a lot more expensive than prescription drugs are. In the long run, the government will actually end up spending more on this type of care than they would have spent if they had just paid for people's drugs in the first place.

It is absolutely imperative that the doughnut hole be eliminated. This could be done without blowing spending levels through the roof if Medicare was allowed to negotiate for lower prices, a practice which has been proven to lead to considerably lower prices in the past. If the program remains in its current state, it will be nothing short of disastrous for senior and disabled Americans with high drug costs.

The only barrier to these important changes is the political power of the pharmaceutical industry. American lawmakers should choose to help our senior and disabled citizens over special interests. The question is, will they?

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89 Nations
& 8 states
have banned
leghold traps.