Analysis: Drug card web site takes work

WASHINGTON, April 30 (UPI) -- Medicare's new Web site, set up to help seniors compare prescription drug prices offered by discount drug card vendors, takes some work to navigate and contains information on only some of the vendors, but it provides enough comparisons and choices to serves as a useful beginning tool.

The site, accessible through medicare.gov and run by the Department of Health and Human Services, estimates drug discounts offered by some of the 70 card vendors approved so far could range from 15 percent to 25 percent.

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, who chairs the Senate Special Committee on Aging issued a statement on the site, saying, "Since prices may fluctuate as firms compete for business, I encourage seniors to take their time and comparison shop before signing up."

House Minority Leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was less sanguine.

"Some experts say that this is so complex that it will take 2.5 hours to explain the choices to one beneficiary," Pelosi told reporters at a news briefing this week.

Seniors can begin signing up for the new Medicare discount cards on Monday. When they use the comparison site they are asked basic questions about existing insurance coverage -- through Medicaid or a former employer -- as well as about their income and assets.

The information can help determine if they are eligible to receive an extra $600 on top of the discounts, plus assistance of up to $30 in paying annual fees. The site provides additional help to seniors if they remain confused about which options apply to them.

Seniors also are asked if they participate in any other discount card programs, and the site features online links to other programs seniors may join based on income and assets.

For example, one state program, Wisconsin Senior Care, counts income but not assets and offers drugs for $5-$15 co-pays after participants meet a deductible of $500 to $800. Low-income seniors, however, do not pay the deductible and the program caps off at about $30,000 in income per couple or $22,000 per individual.

Seniors who participate in other discount programs -- some offered by pharmaceutical companies -- must do some math to figure out if the Medicare program actually is a better deal.

To begin to compare prices in the Medicare drug card program, which goes into effect June 1, seniors should know the brand and generic names of the drugs they take. The Web site will help them find generics. They will need to know the dosage and how many pills they purchase with each refill.

They also might want to know how their local pharmacies are pricing their drugs at retail -- which generally is available online or by calling the pharmacist. It can be confusing if the local drug store's retail price and the Medicare discount card price differ in numbers of pills per refill.

For example, Vioxx is an anti-inflammatory medication commonly prescribed for arthritis. On the national Walgreens Web site Friday it sold for $112.99 for 35 of the 25 milligram tablets. On the CVS national Web site, Vioxx was $99.99 for 30 of the 25 mg tablets and both chains reminded shoppers local prices may vary.

As an example, using the Medicare comparison site and buying Vioxx in, say, Fond du Lac, Wis., a town of about 40,000 people 60 miles north of Milwaukee, there are 14 discount drug card vendors from which to choose and another 26 that did not yet have their information online and advise shoppers to check back later.

The vendors are listed separately and many of the pharmacies in town are affiliated with multiple cards. United Press International compared prices for three of the cards: RX Savings, ScripSolutions Freedom and Preferred Prescription Discount Card.

-- RX Savings charges a $29.95 annual card fee and offers 30 tablets of the 25 mg Vioxx at seven local pharmacies with prices ranging from $154.49 to $158.92.

-- ScripSolutions Freedom charges no annual fee and offers 30 of the 25 mg tablets of Vioxx at $160.00 at all eight of its participating pharmacies.

-- Preferred Prescription Discount Card charges a $25 annual fee but offers the same dosage and amount of Vioxx for $77.86 at five pharmacies.

In Los Angeles and Miami the three vendors -- RX Savings, ScripSolutions and Preferred Prescription -- all offer the same prices as in Fond du Lac.

The Walgreens Web site listed the retail price of Vioxx at $112.99 for 35 tablets, but its own Medicare discount card program -- Walgreens Health Initiatives Prescription Discount Card -- offered 30 tablets of 25 mg Vioxx for $139.99 in Fond du Lac. That same Walgreens outlet also sold the same Vioxx prescription through the Preferred Prescription Discount Card for $77.86.

The generic for Tenormin, a beta blocker drug used for blood pressure, is atenolol. On the Walgreens Web site, 60 of the 25 mg atenolol tablets sold for $9.99, compared to $69.99 for the brand drug. Using the Medicare drug comparison site for 60 of the 25 mg tablets of each:

-- RX Savings priced atenolol at $9.41 to $10.26 and Tenormin at $75.39 to $80.50.

-- ScripSolutions Freedom did not offer the generic but offered Tenormin for $67.43.

-- Preferred Prescription Discount Card had atenolol at $7.40 and Tenormin at $65.31.

-- Walgreens Health Initiatives Card offered atenolol for $14.31 and Tenormin at $75.30, except at the Walgreens store in town, which charged $29.44 for the generic and $72.80 for the brand.

Many seniors take more than one prescription per month, requiring even more information from the Web site, which can be sliced and diced so shoppers can compare totals or individual drugs.

An analysis of 10 drugs commonly used by seniors -- requested by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., ranking minority member of the House Committee on Government Reform -- found Medicare discount card prices were higher than what seniors generally would pay in Canada. The analysis found the 10 drugs purchased north of the border would cost $596, compared to $972 using the Walgreens card and $1,046 using RX Savings.

Comparing the discount cards to prices paid by the government under the Federal Supply Schedule, the 10 drugs would cost $587, compared to an overall average of $1,026 with the Medicare drug cards.

The analysis did find, however, if seniors were able to use the Medicare discount cards through mail order pharmacies, the drug costs were lower than retail prices -- although a three-month purchase usually is required.

HHS this week said it has more than tripled the number of customer service representatives available at the toll-free help line, 1-800-MEDICARE, which also received a record number of calls on Monday. Some 1,000 new hires have been made so about 1,400 representatives are manning the phone lines. More than 3 million people called in the first four months of the year -- before the drug comparison site went active. HHS estimates it will get a total 13 million calls this year.

The office of Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said Friday he and 11 other Democrats have sent a letter to HHS asking for a 30-day grace period to allow seniors to switch plans after the enrollment period "in light of this confusing process."

Once a discount card is chosen, seniors are locked into that plan for the entire year, but the Democrats said because so much information remains uncompiled on many card vendors, seniors should be granted some flexibility in switching if a better deal comes up after they have made their selection.

The Medicare discount cards are not a good deal for everyone, but for low-income seniors without any type of discount card or insurance, they could provide valuable discounts over straight retail pricing.

Even if seniors decide the Medicare card is not right for them, they could use the site to find another state or pharmaceutical company discount card program that better suits their needs. One of the best benefits of the site, as more information is added, may turn out to be the fact it brings together in one place the many assistance programs out there that seniors do not know exist.

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Ellen Beck is UPI's Health Policy Editor. E-mail ebeck@upi.com