Re: Frank Bland’s Dec. 10 commentary, “One idea for Medicare Part D�:
Bland points out the trouble that seniors are having with Medicare Part D. He suggests a simple solution by going to the Medicare Web page and comparing medical prescription drug plans. If you follow his instructions and enter a three-month supply for each medicine, the estimated annual costs that come up are all wrong. The reason is that the program assumes four purchases per year, but uses the one-month cost for each purchase, thereby underestimating the total annual cost and making the comparison between plans unreliable. The difference can amount to hundreds of dollars, depending on how many medicines are included.
If one intends to purchase by mail order, which usually results in lower cost, one must enter the number of pills that will be consumed each month, even though one is purchasing a three-month supply.
It is outrageous that the Medicare Web page omits this information. This is, of course, a major blunder. Perhaps Bland is right in stating that the insurance companies are dedicated to seeing that Part D Medicare should not be understandable without a major effort.
— Mark Cher, Thousand Oaks
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