A Policy Analysis of the Medicare Prescription Drug Savings and Choice Act of 2005

This account looks at the Medicare Prescription dose Savings and Choice Act of 2005, also known as the Medicare D Drug plan.The paper will look at its historical underpinnings, an overview into how the policy started, view into the policy itself, as well as an analysis of itwhether the policy is really giving benefits to its intended beneficiaries. This paper however, contends that the Medicare D do drugs plan is not sufficiently conflict the compulsions of those who are its beneficiaries. Before the arguments as to whether the policy is stiff or not however, it may well be first necessary to look at and construe the policy.The Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Plan and Choice Plan, otherwise known as Medicare D Drug plan was aimed to supplement or enhance the original Medicare program. The Medicare D drug plan was passed into what is known as the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act or MMA legislation. It was enacted by the shrub administration in 200 3. Benefits from the program started only recently, in January 2006. (Medicare spark off D, 2006)Medicare D drug benefit plan is a voluntary outpatient prescription drug benefit for people under the Medicare programbeneficiaries include the elderly (over 65 years of age) and diseased beneficiaries (end stage renal disease patients, for example) (Medicare (United States), 2006).Simply stated, the Medicare D Drug plan is a sheath of insurance to seniors and other disabled citizens who may not be able to anticipate or fee for the high cost of medicine. The Medicare program works with many private insurance and other companies to bring these seniors a variety of plans. (Lieberman, 2006)The original Medicare program previously had two parts part A and part B. Part A of the program covers hospital care for inpatients, skilled nursing services, health care for patients at home, as well as other health services. Part B, on the other hand covers a coarse range of frequently used health s ervices, examples of which are doctor visits and diagnostic testing. (Medicare Savings Program, 2005)Because of author problems with the previous Medicare program such that it was ineffective as cited, when President Bush came into office, Medicare was outdated and not meeting the needs of American seniors.Hence, legislation was passed into Congress and the President signed into law what was to modernize the Medicare programthis was by providing preventive care, offering of more choices to seniors and most of all giving seniors better access to prescription drugs that they need, the Medicare D Drug plan.(Strengthening Medicare A Framework to Modernize and Improve Medicare, 2005)Furthermore, with the revolutionizing of the Medicare D drug plan, President Bush has concentrated on preventative health careit was believed that if diseases were caught early, these diseases would be easier to cure. In addition to that objective, a need existed to revolutionize the original Medicare progra m and this was due to gaps in the original Medicare plan coverage (Choosing a Medigap polity to Supplement the Original Medicare Plan , 2006).Changes in the original Medicare policy involved a doer testing. This means that a higher income (and this includes Social Security benefits) would consequently mean a higher pay for Medicare beneficiaries. To exposit the point Medicare beneficiaries would see their premiums increase dramatically before they die, i.e. they retire at an age of 65, live until 95, that have an inflation of 3% without working out the numbers this already clearly shows that beneficiaries arent acquiring benefits.The next generation of Medicare beneficiaries is said to have to pay the full price of their Medicare benefit from the beginning of their retirement, in spite of of paying Medicare taxes their entire life. Hence, the 2003 legislation was enactedto eliminate the effect of inflation on income. (Medicare (United States), 2006)