Editorial: More of Bush’s bad medicine

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 | 7:07 a.m.

Last week pharmacists from President Bush's home state of Texas traveled to the nation's capital to tell administration officials that many independent pharmacists may be forced out of business because the new Medicare prescription drug benefit isn't paying them for medicines they have been providing to their customers.

According to The New York Times, pharmacists met recently with Bush senior adviser Karl Rove and said that pharmacists across the country "have given away millions of dollars' worth of medications" for which Medicare should have, but has not, paid.

The pharmacists who visited the White House, the Times reports, were all from Texas and have ties to Bush and Rove. Even the administration's supporters aren't willing to keep the poorly executed components of this nightmarish program under wraps - especially now that it is costing them money.

Since the federal drug benefit - which offers some seniors a mind-boggling choice of about 40 plans - went into effect Jan. 1, many pharmacists say they have been paid less than what it costs to fill prescriptions and rarely within the seven to 15 days in which Medicaid and commercial health insurance companies typically pay. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt told the Times that many pharmacists have even given seniors free five-day supplies of medicines while they try to decipher the system.

Independent pharmacists may be faced with choosing between closing their doors or refusing Medicare customers. It seems seniors aren't the only ones with lousy choices under this program. And those who fail to sign up by May 15 must pay 1 percent more for each month they delay.

Pharmacists should be paid within 10 days and receive incentives to dispense generic drugs, as the group requested during their meeting with Rove. But Congress needs to make some changes - starting with eliminating the premium penalty for those who fail to enroll by May 15. Medicare officials and the nation's pharmacists can't make this program work. Its beneficiaries should not be penalized for not being able to figure it out, either.