• Your retail cost: $23 + $20 = $43
every 90 days. That is $172/year. But
you also have to pay the provider
$29/month for the Part D premium.
That is $348/year.
• Medicare is invoiced: $104 + $170 = $274
every 90 days. That = 1,096.00/year.
You receive only $172/year worth of meds.
But since you had to pay WellCare 12 monthly insurance payments
of $29 ($348/year) your annual cost
is 200% of the retail! What benefit is
that to you? None! You pay double what
it costs without the Part D prescription
drug plan. Medicare Part D is not
a drug benefit to you - it is a benefit
to the Medicare provider.
• Your meds cost $40
wholesale/year.
• You can buy them
yourself for $170 retail.
• The Medicare
Part D provider reaps
$1,170.00/year with a
combination of your premiums +
markup to the government.
• All you receive is $40
wholesale cost worth of meds.
Uh, huh! |
The US Government is
invoiced a whopping $1,096.00 for your $172/year
worth of meds and pays out to the provider
75% = $822 net.
The provider also receives
your $348 in 12 monthly installments as
"insurance premiums". The provider takes
in $1,170.00 total. WOW!
How profitable is the provider scam?
The actual wholesale cost of the meds is
a fraction of the retail price.
Pharmaceuticals are commonly marked up
400% or more (even a lot more!)
above wholesale. Research has
shown, for example, that a 30 day prescription of
medication that costs $4 to the
pharmacy retails to you for a whooping
$75.00. That is a 1,775% markup. Not
a joke.
In the case shown here, for metformin
and simvastatin, the cost may actually
be about $40 for an entire years supply
of these very generic (cheap) medications. Despite this the
Medicare provider
walks off with $1,170.00. What
business can make $40 grow into
$1,170.00 by doing nothing more than
invoicing the government? Medicare!
Why Medicare cannot be reformed
According to the movie Sicko, every
senator and congress person in
Washington, DC receives money from drug
companies, medical insurance firms, etc.
Our "representatives" work for the corporations
that profit from this ongoing medical
scam. Healthcare is NOT expensive - its the layers of
profit takers that lay on top of it.
|
 |
| Moore's previous films such
as Roger & Me, or
Fahrenheit
911 were obnoxious. But Sicko is
like Moore turned over a new
leaf. He made a masterful
statement with this movie. Sicko
is Bravo! |
|
