A NEW law passed by the US Congress this week could point the way Bermuda has to go if it wants to help its seniors meet the cost of expensive prescription drugs, according to a leading seniors advocate.

Age Concern executive director Claudette Fleming said a joint scheme involving Government and the private sector ? as outlined in the brand-new US law on Medicare ? could give Bermuda a few pointers.

But she added that the new law did nothing to address the problem of the spiralling cost of prescription drugs.

And the balance would have to be right between the profit-seeking private interests and the benefit to seniors in any such scheme here, Ms Fleming continued.

"The situation is very different in the US because there is a tax structure there which means wealthier people in the community can contribute to the scheme," Ms Fleming said.

"Here in Bermuda, there is no tax structure. And drugs are expensive so while there is no tax structure, the solution is probably a partnership between private and public sectors, like the new Medicare scheme."

Among Bermuda's ageing population, many seniors are paying out hundreds of dollars a month to buy prescription drugs.

The Government provided some help in June this year when it announced an extra $1,000 annually for each of the 2,000 seniors on the Government-run Health Insurance Plan (HIP) specifically for prescription drugs.

The US Medicare legislation, approved by Congress on Tuesday, will kick in in 2006.

It will introduce a drug benefit for a minimal premium cost of $30 per month which after a $250 deductible will cover 75 per cent of prescription drug costs of up to $2,250.

After $2,250 the subscriber will have to pay 100 per cent of the costs until they reach the "catastrophic" benefit stage of $5,100 at which time the client will become eligible again, this time for 95 per cent of drug costs.

Subsidies for the plan will be available for seniors earning less than $12,123 per year and with less than $6,000 worth of assets.

Objectors to the Medicare legislation have said pharmaceutical and health insurance companies stand to gain the most, while some of the poorest seniors will not get the help they need.

Ms Fleming said: "There is a lot of talk of benefits to seniors in the plan but private industry appears to be benefiting the most with billions of dollars worth of tax subsidies.

"Also, the plan is a bureaucratic nightmare! Who keeps the tab on how seniors are spending their prescription drug money. The bigger the bureaucracy the less likely that the poorer classes will be able to keep up with accessing the benefits.

"The real problem seems to be the spiralling cost of drugs. The bill doesn't appear to address that nor does it take advantage of the current (US) administration's opportunity to legislate spiralling drug costs.

"Given the fact that research shows that those in the lower socio-economic strata are the least healthiest, doesn't that mean that coverage of $2,250 may be merely a drop in the bucket for those who need the coverage the most? How then will this group afford to cover the gap between $2,259 and $5,100 and how will this affect them medically?

Ms Fleming said there was a moral to be learned from the new Medicare law for Bermuda politicians looking for a similar solution at home.

"We must ensure the policy answers are helpful and not hurtful to seniors, first and foremost, and not merely clever politicking that serves the interest of capitalists only," Ms Fleming said.

There was also a Catch 22 situation in fighting the ever-increasing cost of drugs, she added, in that lower revenues for pharmaceutical companies could reduce their ability to develop the drugs that improve the quality of life for seniors.

Senior Factor ? see page 4