program. But are Medicare recipients really in need of such a benefit? According to a study done by the AARP Public Policy Institute, about 25.6 million, or 65 percent, of noninstitutionalized Medicare beneficiaries already receive some type of prescription-drug coverage, whether it is through employer-sponsored health plans or individually purchased private health policies. This leaves about 13.5 million Medicare beneficiaries who are without prescription-drug coverage . These 13.5 million Medicare recipients are supposedly the ones that the presidential candidates are attempting to help by proposing this addition to Medicare. However, it is interesting to note that even those who do have prescription-drug coverage from some other source still incur out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs, although they are less than what is paid by those with absolutely no drug coverage. The average out-of-pocket prescription drug spending of the Medicare recipients with coverage is $320 per year. For Medicare beneficiaries without any drug coverage, the average out-of-pocket spending for prescription drugs was $590 per year. Of course, this figure is the average cost paid by those without insurance. The proposed addition to Medicare is aimed at protecting the relatively few senior citizens who have drug bills in the thousands of dollars annually and who have no relief from these costs. Why don’t these people find some sort of prescription-drug coverage? Of the 13.5 million Medicare beneficiaries without prescription-drug coverage, many of them choose not to be covered because they do not spend enough of drugs to make it worth their money. But some of them are not covered because of some barriers to obtaining drug coverage. Medicare beneficiaries with employer-sponsored prescription-drug coverage are the largest group of beneficiaries with drug coverage. For those who do not have an employer-sponsored health plan, privately purc...
