Medicare Part D - Lower Premiums
The upcoming Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit cost should be about 14% less than originally projected. Based on bids from the private insurance companies planning to offer the coverage, the premium is expected to be $32.20 per month. The originally projected amount was $37.37.
According to the LA Times:
The lower estimates were good news not only for Medicare recipients and the U.S. Treasury, but also for President Bush. He made the prescription benefit a centerpiece of his domestic agenda, but the elderly have greeted the plan with skepticism — fearing that it would be too costly to participate in.
Tuesday’s announcement may make it easier for administration officials to drum up enthusiasm for the plan.
The figures announced Tuesday by Medicare administrator Mark B. McClellan came as something of a surprise. Until now, most analysts had predicted that the program would be much more expensive than Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress envisioned.
“This is very good news,” McClellan said. “What we are seeing is significantly lower costs.”
He attributed that to “robust competition” among private insurers and managed-care health plans.