In this week's episode of ER , an elderly couple comes in the emergency room and doctors learn that they have been sharing medication in an attempt to save costs because Medicare doesn't cover their prescriptions. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence - many of America's elderly habitually cannot afford their medications. As a result, some do not refill their prescriptions and others take less than the required dosage in order to make the medication last longer. The following provides additional information on Medicare and prescription drug coverage as well as links to related sites. At this time, prescription drug coverage is not a part of the Medicare benefits package.
Beneficiaries can buy into private plans or purchase supplemental coverage.
According to research conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Americans spent 91 billion dollars on prescription drugs in 1998. It has been estimated that, by 2008, the amount spent for medications will be 243 billion dollars. Supplemental insurance can be from either public or private plans. Even those who do have supplemental coverage, it is often not continuous. It is not surprising that the money spent on medications is higher for those who are in poor health or severely limited in their daily activities.