"Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?": Response # 14

Since Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP have asked, I will answer their question.
Response # 14 to the question:  "Are YOU better off than you were 4 years ago?"
The answer is yes.  Yes, I am better off. 

I am better off because my parents are better off.  I still worry about the amount they pay for their prescriptions, but I know it's a little easier now than it was 4 fours ago, thanks to the Affordable Care Act.  

You see, according to the Medicare website, in 2008, basic Medicare Part D coverage worked like this:

• You pay out-of-pocket for monthly Part D premiums all year.
• You pay 100% of your drug costs until you reach the $310 deductible amount.
• After reaching the deductible, you pay 25% of the cost of your drugs, while the Part D plan pays the rest, until the total you and your plan spend on your drugs reaches $2,800.
• Once you reach this limit, you have hit the coverage gap referred to as the “donut hole,” and you are now responsible for the full cost of your drugs until the total you have spent for your drugs reaches the yearly out-of-pocket spending limit of $4,550.
• After this yearly spending limit, you are only responsible for a small amount of the cost, usually 5% of the cost of your drugs.

You know, when fact-checking for the blog today, I gotta say I found the information above hard to take in.  I can't imagine what it's like for the elderly to decipher what they owe and when they owe it.  How can you budget for prescriptions with donut holes and deductibles?!  

When the Affordable Care Act was passed, seniors got a rebate check for prescription expenses if they fell into the donut hole.  Not only that...

• Starting in 2011, they received a 50% discount on brand-name drugs in the donut hole, and started to pay less and less for generic Part D drugs in the donut hole.
• Starting in 2013, seniors will pay less and less for brand-name Part D prescription drugs in the donut hole.
• By 2020, the coverage gap will be closed, meaning there will be no more “donut hole,” and they will only pay 25% of the costs of drugs until they reach the yearly out-of-pocket spending limit.

In other words, life-saving drugs are now cheaper for my parents.  Thanks to President Obama and those in Congress who voted for the Affordable Care Act, I'm better off because my parents are better off.