Medicare drug plan should be preserved
Re “Fearing Senior Backlash, Senate Supports Drug Plan Extension,” March 16
It seems presumptuous for Senate Republicans to advocate any changes to the Medicare prescription drug program. Drug company lobbyists wrote the legislation. The pharmaceutical industry paid for its passage. These senators sold this legislation to the pharmaceutical companies and should hold to the principles that brought it forth. What they fear (and what they deserve) is actual democracy.
CARL C. SLATE
Sherman Oaks
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When the Medicare drug plan was announced, I was convinced that anything Bush was for was bad for me, but I signed up anyway, and I must say I’ve been pleasantly surprised. For years I supplemented my Medicare with a Blue Cross senior plan that included pharmaceutical benefits. My Blue Cross premium was $400 a month, but when I removed the pharmaceutical portion of the policy, the premium dropped to $205.
The Medicare plan costs me $35 a month, and the co-pays are basically the same, so, for the time being at least, I’m saving $160 a month. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.
JOEL RAPP
Los Angeles
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