Sunrise Senior Living

With the price of prescription drugs on the rise, the federal government enacted Medicare Part D, a prescription drug plan for those who qualified for Medicare. The program was introduced in January 2006, and just two years later over 25 million seniors were enrolled.

They are to be congratulated for making sense of this complex initiative.  Out-of-pocket expenses under the standard Medicare Part D plan are determined by a complicated formula that includes a coverage gap, popularly called the doughnut hole, that occurs before enrollees qualify for catastrophic coverage.

Sunrise Senior Living

Last year’s exposé of substandard conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center had the unfortunate effect of tarnishing the reputation of the Department of Veterans Affairs health system even though Walter Reed is run by the Department of Defense, a separate government agency. In fact, during the last decade, the VA has earned a reputation for providing excellent care, especially for older veterans. Its services are largely free, except for small copayments from higher-income patients.