Auditor lobbies for extension of deadline on drug plan

Claire McCaskill didn't talk long Thursday about problems in the new Medicare drug plan before turning the microphone over to someone who knows the issue firsthand -- her mother.

McCaskill, the Democratic state auditor pursuing a U.S. Senate seat, brought Betty Anne McCaskill, 77, along for a statewide tour to talk about the new federal program. McCaskill hopes to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Jim Talent.

"We're here to give you some good advice and tell you how we can make it better without any more taxpayer dollars, just a few votes in Washington," McCaskill said.

When the McCaskills arrived for the event at the Cape Girardeau Public Library, they were met with about a dozen local Republicans -- including Talent's district director, Jeff Glenn -- holding up signs touting the incumbent.

In a telephone interview, state GOP spokesman Paul Sloca said McCaskill wants to disrupt the Medicare program that is already being used by half of Missouri's senior citizens. "This was an important bill for Missouri seniors to get prescription drugs at a lower price," Sloca said. "It is this or nothing."

When Betty Anne McCaskill rose to speak, she talked about her confusion and frustration with the plan's administration.

"Claire and I and all of us believe you should sign up," the older McCaskill said. "But it is so darn hard. We aren't suggesting you shouldn't sign up."

Betty Anne McCaskill said she deals with diabetes, recovery from a stroke, chronic heart problems and arthritis. Last year, she paid $7,600 for medicines out of her own pocket while her insurance picked up the remaining $31,000 cost.

That means, she said, that she must buy one of the more expensive Medicare plans but needed help choosing one. And finding that help was one of the most difficult parts of the process. She said she called the state Division of Aging and the Social Security Administration before being directed to a special line for the Medicare program. That led her to an automated menu of choices. "I was just looking for the location of a place where I could get help," she said.

Several aspects of the plan need attention soon, McCaskill said.

May 15 deadline

Seniors who don't sign up by May 15 will pay a penalty. That deadline should be extended, she said, noting that Talent has voted three times against an extension.

The government should change the law to allow negotiations with the drug companies over prices -- something the law prohibits. And the "doughnut hole" or gap in coverage that requires seniors to pay full price for their prescriptions after the retail cost of their drugs has reached $2,250. The next $2,850 in costs is borne entirely by the senior citizens.

"You can tell who is driving this buggy, and it is not senior citizens," McCaskill said.

The program as currently constructed isn't working, pharmacist Dave Charlier of Medicap Pharmacy in Scott City said. "It has really been a disaster for the pharmacies, and all we hear is that it is going to continue the way it is now."

Some people come in and have plans that pay for Viagra, Charlier noted, while others have plans that won't cover antibiotics.

The best solution, McCaskill said, would be for seniors to get the same coverage provided to members of Congress, who have comprehensive coverage. Asked whether she would provide that same plan to seniors, McCaskill promised to try. "And until I do, I won't take theirs."

The Medicare plan's cost was pegged at $400 billion over 10 years when passed; the current estimate is now set at $678 billion over that same period.

She noted that when the final version of the bill reached the U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, voted against it. Republican leaders kept the vote open for three hours to round up the votes to pass the bill.

"She gets a lot of credit for standing up to the pressure of her party," McCaskill said. "She had guts on this thing and she voted no."