Medicare in Texas

Seniors fight and lobby as much as they can for full Medicare coverage in Texas, and from the looks of it, it is here to stay. There has been a recent proposed bill for Medicare that could change the system itself. The bill states that “the standard drug” benefits would begin in 2006. Seniors would pay a $275 deductible and a monthly premium of about $35. The program would cover 75 percent of the costs of prescriptions up to $2,200 annually in drug expenses. Many low-income seniors would get full coverage. The bill would be a $400 billion prescription drug benefit, answering promises made six years ago by policymakers to Medicare's 40 million beneficiaries. The drug benefit would not be available until 2006, but seniors could expect to begin receiving help in April 2004, when they could purchase a government-issued discount prescription card. The medicine includes a handful of competition and cost containment provisions designed to help control rising expenses as the 76 million-...